Press Release 12/04/2006
Georgians flock to DeKalb County auction
for year-end sale of formerly neglected horses
Nearly 30 horses -- nursed back to good health after being taken in for protective custody by the Georgia Department of Agriculture Equine -- will be auctioned to the highest bidder at an upcoming auction in metropolitan Atlanta.
The auction, 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec.16, will be held at the Georgia Department of Agriculture Equine Critical Care Facility, 2394 Wildcat Road (off Panthersville Road), south DeKalb County. The facility opens at 11 a.m. for pre-auction viewing.
The auction, scheduled several times-a-year, is part of impoundment process that results when horses are neglected or their owners are unable to provide the proper care. Funds generated from the auction are returned to the Equine Critical Care Facility which is operated by staff and volunteers without the aid of state funds.
“We don’t like to sell horses and we never want to impound them, but sometimes we have to,” says Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin. “We are pleased that at the end of the day, this is a win-win situation for everyone involved.
“The impound horses are nursed back to good health, hobbyists are sometimes able to purchase horses at a fraction of their market value, and the equine critical care facility receives financial support that it needs to sustain its good work. This is a great program.”
In 2005, nearly 300 neglected and sick horses were impounded by the agriculture department when owners were found unable to provide a basic level of care as required by state law. Most often, equine are returned to owners after conditions improve. Those equine unable to be returned are sold at public auction.
“On Dec. 16, we will have an excellent variety of horses available to meet just about any horse owner’s interest,” says Melinda Dennis, manager, Georgia Department of Agriculture Equine program. “From a one-year-old light bay Grade filly to “Gone with the Wind,” a 20-year-plus quarter horse, there will be nearly 30 horses in good health for sale.”
Photographs and vital statistics of some horses in the Dec. 16 auction are listed at www.agr.georgia.gov. For directions and additional auction information, call (404) 656-3713.
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