Earlier this month, at least 20 horses were seized from Friesians of Majesty, a breeding facility in Townshend.
This came after state game wardens and Vermont State Police troopers seized two other horses there earlier this summer, and another 13 last year. All of them were examined by veterinarians and found to be in need of feeding and medical care.
The situation has helped spur reforms to Vermont’s animal welfare system. And in this particular case, it’s led to growing care costs for the seized horses and 16 counts of animal cruelty for Friesians of Majesty owner Robert Labrie, who pleaded not guilty in July.
Vermont Public's Nathaniel Wilson recently spoke with Brattleboro Reformer's Bob Audette, who has been covering the ongoing story for the newspaper. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Nathaniel Wilson: To start, Bob, can you give listeners a brief overview of the situation at Friesians of Majesty?
Bob Audette: There are probably still about another 90 horses there. It's been a breeding facility over the last 10 or 20 years, and there have been lots of complaints over the years from local residents and ex-employees about how the animals are being treated.
Nathaniel Wilson: The horses that were seized earlier this month, what kind of state were they in?
Bob Audette: Those were the horses most in need of care. A couple of them ended up at a horse hospital in Saratoga for treatment because they were so malnourished and they — a lot of them have just poor health because they haven't been fed right, they haven't been receiving medical care. Even just regular check-ups and stuff.
Nathaniel Wilson: What kind of conditions lead a horse to be seized? And how does the state decide which ones stay at Friesians of Majesty versus which ones were taken away?
Bob Audette: I know that they have a couple of state veterinarians that are present to evaluate the horses. As far as what the requirements are to seize them, I would think it's just the horses that appear to be closest to death, actually. And if they don't get taken care of, they're going to stay sick or they're going to die. And you know, there's so many horses up there, I can't imagine how they visually inspect them before they even decide what kind of triage they're going to conduct to decide which ones to take.
Nathaniel Wilson: Do you know whether the state is interested in seizing the remaining horses?
Bob Audette: When I talked to the local state's attorney, they said that is their number one priority, is to make sure the animals are OK. The problem is that any rescue is on their own. The state does not fund rescues and does not fund for the care of these animals once they're rescued. So finding a place for them to stay is one thing, then finding the money to care for them is another.
Nathaniel Wilson: So, sort of along those lines, you've reported that several of the seized horses have been rehabbed at Dorset Equine Rescue, a nonprofit in Southern Vermont, and that Robert Labrie, the owner of Friesians of Majesty, has been ordered to pay over $38,000 to the rescue for care. How is the Dorset rescue equipped to care for these animals if they're not being paid?
Bob Audette: They survive on donations and gifts, because Labrie has not paid them the money that he owes them. Dorset Equine Rescue says they would be happy to take the rest of the horses, too. They have the facility, they have the space and, apparently, they have the donor base. But you know, this is just money that's going out. Eventually, Labrie's got to pay one way or another, and I don't know if that, when that might happen
Nathaniel Wilson: This summer, with animal cruelty cases reaching a crisis point according to some Vermont stakeholders, Gov. Phil Scott signed legislation creating an animal welfare division within the Department of Public Safety. The new office will ultimately create a system for developing, implementing and enforcing Vermont's animal welfare laws — something towns and other state agencies have traditionally handled in a piecemeal way. How will the creation of this division change how cases like this one are handled in Vermont?
Bob Audette: Well, I'm hoping it gives them more power and more authority and maybe more resources to go in and evaluate more animals.
You know, H.626 is still in the process of being fleshed out, they don't even have an animal welfare officer yet. So, according to our local state rep., they hope to hire an animal welfare officer in 2025, and then they're going to give them eight months to work on a report about how animal welfare is financed and how we can pay for taking care of animals, but sure that's all well and good, but that doesn't help Friesians of Majesty or the Dorset Equine Rescue. So, there's really no immediate relief right now.
Nathaniel Wilson: And what's next for these horses that have been rescued, and Friesians of Majesty owner Robert Labrie?
Bob Audette: The horses themselves, you know, Dorset Equine has been taking care of them, nursing them back to health and finding them homes, which is great. And part of the adoption process, you know, is a little bit of a fee, but Dorset Equine Rescue works with people to make sure these horses have nice homes to go to as soon as they recover.
As far as Mr. Labrie is concerned, when the judge ordered the $38,000 payment, Mr. Labrie wasn't even in court at the time. He's got 16 counts of animal cruelty he has to answer to, but those charges won't even be addressed until January. Whether we get even more charges from this latest case, we don't know, but who knows how long it's going to take to work its way through the system.
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