A North Dakota rancher is battling to keep custody of his horses after the county sheriff, a discredited veterinarian, and an anonymous call from an out-of-state person rained down the unconstitutional seizure of his animals, he says. He now faces animal neglect and abuse criminal charges, including a felony charge.
This dispute arises out of laws passed in the North Dakota legislature in 2012 after lobbying from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF). Rancher Gary Dassinger, who is also a licensed clinical social worker, has raised constitutional objections to the actions taken by the sheriff’s office, as well as the application of the state’s law that became effective in 2013.
A preliminary hearing in the criminal prosecution is scheduled for July 31.
In April, a Stark County deputy sheriff came to the Dassinger ranch and said they had been notified that there were dead and “thin” animals on the ranch. The Dassingers later learned that the complaint came from a person who had never been to his ranch and did not live in North Dakota.
On May 17, North Dakota State Representative Luke Simons, who also
served as a Stark County Sheriff’s Department volunteer deputy, visited
the ranch after news of the seizure spread. He interviewed Dassinger and
took a tour, and it including filming the livestock. Representative
Simons posted the video of the interview and the stock on his Facebook
page. Sheriff Oestreich later contacted Rep. Simons and reportedly told him his services with the department were no longer needed....
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1 comment:
In New Mexico, the only line of defense against this scenario is the New Mexico Livestock Board and its inspectors. During my watch there were similar attempts to contrive situations, some by HSUS. If the animal rights people succeed in diminishing the Board's authority and handing it over to agencies who do not know what they are looking at, we will have the same problems here.
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