A ranch in Grand Forks is in the spotlight again over conditions and allegations of animal cruelty, particularly treatment of horses.
A group of citizens is expressing concern over the LaFond Ranch on Almond Gardens Road East, a place that has seen a number of complaints over a number of years.
Kim McLean said she has spoken to people who can’t look when they drive by the ranch anymore but she said it’s time to raise awareness about the situation.
“I call upon people to bear witness! Drive by, write the letters, call the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) Area D representative. Call the animal abuse hot line. These animals have no voice; give them one,” she said.
McLean said she has contacted RDKB alternate Area D director Roly Russell as well as the SPCA.
“On June 16, I was driving by – people are checking, everybody’s checking, everybody’s watching – and I watched the stallion go after the mare and trample a foal,” McLean claimed. “I’ve witnessed animals just lying there in the heat, it’s terrible, there’s no shelter, no shade, no water, no food, they’re emaciated. It’s bad, it’s a very ugly thing for Grand Forks.”
Barry Brandow Sr. is another resident with concerns about the LaFond ranch, particularly because of its close proximity to the Kettle River.
“Every time I go to town, I have to pass (his ranch) and I bitterly resent what he’s doing to the river. I resent the garbage, the filth and the major negative impact that it has on landowners adjacent to them, not only their property values but their quality of life,” Brandow Sr. said, adding that he thought the animals were living in “Ungodly, primitive conditions.”
Kevin LaFond said he buys and sells horses. He says his ranch takes in all manner of horses, both healthy and not healthy, and admits some of the horses go to slaughter, although he says that isn’t his aim.
“We’d rather buy and sell horses that are good, working horses and find horses that would otherwise go for slaughter. We buy them and try to find them new homes. We re-home way more horses than we ever ship for slaughter, always have,” LaFond explained, adding that the ones that are shipped to slaughter are mainly cripples, wild horses and dangerous horses.
“There are local people here, and they all know me, that won’t come out and say anything good about us. But they bring me horses that they can’t either break in or they’re dangerous, they buck or they’ve thrown people, they flip over backwards on people, those are the kinds of horses we do not keep around,” LaFond said. “I can’t feel right about selling somebody down the road a horse that may turn around, flip over and kill somebody.”
He also confirmed that he has been investigated by the SPCA numerous times.
“There’s a story behind every incident. There are a lot of times they come on complaints – the horse will be laying in the field and it will be rolling – and someone will phone them and say, ‘Oh there’s a horse that can’t get up,’ and the (SPCA) comes over here, just to come here and see that it’s unfounded,” explained LaFond, adding that he and his wife have a file full of the issues where it is eventually determined there is no problem.
A BC SPCA senior animal protection officer for the Boundary/Okanagan region, Kathy Woodward, said there have been complaints against the ranch and its conditions over the years but complaints are expected for someone like LaFond, who buys and receives animals that are in poor shape.
Woodward said that LaFond had an inspection done by a registered vet around March and the vet recognized where and how he acquires the animals and didn’t have a lot of concerns, although shelter was one.
“Are (conditions) ideal? Probably not but it’s a working ranch. There’s always been food and water there for them. He’s constructing a shelter right now but he also has other shelters on the property,” said Woodward.
“Most of the calls are regarding animals that he’s taken in that come in, in poor shape. So we attend and if we have concerns we issue orders and the LaFonds have always complied with any orders we’ve issued,” said Woodward, adding that the SPCA always follows up to ensure compliance is being maintained. “Our findings have been, yes, they are in poor shape but they’ve always been able to show us that they’ve just acquired the animals.”
She also said that the LaFond file is an open one that BC SPCA constables will follow up on when they’re in the region.
“We generally follow up every time we’re through the Kootenays, which can be anywhere from a week to 10 days,” Woodward said.