WHAT TO DO IF YOUR HORSE IS STOLEN OR GOES MISSING

IT’S ONE OF YOUR WORSE NIGHTMARES – RIGHT?

First bookmark/save this post.

If your horse is missing, even if you are not 100% sure he or she has been stolen, please don’t waste any time, please take action ASAP because as long as the slaughter of horses for human consumption and other purposes exists in Australia — stolen horses are at risk of being slaughtered.

And please don’t think that your horse is old or not valuable enough to be stolen.  Those who slaughter equines slaughter all shapes, sizes, and ages, healthy or not – even pregnant mares.

Next, take a few minutes today to take updated pictures of your horses from the front, from behind and from each side.

Clear photos, kept close at hand can be a huge help in finding a missing or stolen horse.  You don’t want to be scrambling for photos if your horse goes missing.   Again, you need to have clear photos showing your equine from all sides – close at hand.

Then, take a few minutes right now to Google the contact information for the “Stock Squad” in your area.  Put that information in your phone – so if you ever need it you are not scrambling to find it.

Make sure you know how to notify your local police – and notify them ASAP after realising your horse is missing.

Use social media, create posts on all the forms of social media that you have available — AND not only tag the social media accounts of “Meet Our Horse Meat” but reach out via our website and social media accounts and let us know that your horse is missing – and we’ll do our best to help you share your posts.

Hint:  Please make sure that on Facebook the setting for any posts about your stolen or missing horse(s)  is set to PUBLIC so that anyone – not just your friends – can see the post.  Not sure how to do that?  Figure it out now so that if the time ever comes that you need to post about your horse being missing/stolen — you are not scrambling to try and figure it out.

Enlist the help of as many family and friends as possible to share your post in as many horse-related, animal and pet-friendly and community social media groups, pages and accounts as possible.

Send your post to members of the press, and to as many news agencies, both local and national – as possible.

Don’t be shy about hitting the news agencies multiple times and at different times of the day, and in more than one way — on social media, in private and public messages, forms on websites, by phone — you never know who might be monitoring the accounts or phones who is extra sympathetic when it comes to horses, and even from hour to hour, the person monitoring can change.  Or a slow news day may mean you get extra coverage.  Again, ask your family and friends to do the same.

If possible offer a reward.

And it goes without saying you want to include multiple ways to contact you – include a phone number.

Ask for help from family and friends with monitoring  “Laidley Sales” to see if your horse is listed.

Do you know where your original bill of sale is for your horse or horses?  Dig it out, right now and make a digital copy.  Scan it, or take a picture.  Any proof that your horse belongs to you is valuable.  Maybe your horse is registered with a breed registry – any documentation that could help to prove ownership is a good thing to be able to put your fingers on and fast.  Multiple years of invoices from your vet and farrier may be helpful to prove ownership in a pinch.

Monitor and get help monitoring Gumtree and AgTrader and anywhere else that you can think of where horses might be listed for sale, again including groups, accounts and pages on social media platforms.

Create fliers – or share your pictures and write up with a friend who can make you a poster – and get posters up anywhere equestrians are likely to be – bulletin boards in the local feed stores, grocery stores — there’s no right or wrong place — get the word out ASAP.

Contact doggers

Peter Klan at

0407 761 349

AND call 

Brian Munro at 0488 200 789

Because both buy horses and then take them to be slaughtered.  Don’t be surprised if they try to sell you your horse at an astronomical price.  If need be, don’t be shy about calling law enforcement AND the press.

Contact Meramist Abattoir at 5495 3711 – they slaughter horses for human consumption!

You also need to call knackeries who slaughter horses…  see a partial list here.