The thread about the puppy mill auction got me thinking about auctions in general. I have gone to horse auctions for years in Amish country--I'm actually going to a huge one on Friday. I've never purchased a horse for myself from an auction, but have helped pick out trail horses and pony ride ponies when I worked at a barn. The sale auctions tack, ponies, driving horses (mostly for the Amish), riding horses, and kill pen horses. The auction can be upsetting, especially if you let yourself linger too long over the kill horses--many are in very sad shape. In addition, if you go to enough sales you start to recognize the kill buyers who haunt the riding horse sale looking for cheap horses--usually the older or obviously totally unbroken animals. If you are ever wondering if you should breed your mediocre horse or not, I highly recommend going to a kill auction and watching them drive the freaked out, slaughter bound horses into the livestock semis-it's sobering to say the least.
That having been said you do have normal people buying and selling horses there, and if you know what you are looking for and willing to take a chance, you can often find decent horses, especially at the bigger sales.
I also attend an exotic livestock sale that happens twice a year. They feature everything from large exotics like bison, alpacas, camels, and emus to smaller exotic animals like birds, monkeys, foxes, and even small alligators. I've bought two of my birds-Yoda and Solo-at this sale.
Yet after all of the sales I've gone to I would still feel very uncomfortable going to a dog auction. Logically it doesn't make much sense I guess-even medium sized parrots are at least as socially aware (if not more so), and probably more intelligent than a dog-but somehow it's just different to me.
So how do you feel about selling animals at auction? Do you feel more comfortable with certain species being auctioned off than others? Have you or would you buy an animal at auction?
That having been said you do have normal people buying and selling horses there, and if you know what you are looking for and willing to take a chance, you can often find decent horses, especially at the bigger sales.
I also attend an exotic livestock sale that happens twice a year. They feature everything from large exotics like bison, alpacas, camels, and emus to smaller exotic animals like birds, monkeys, foxes, and even small alligators. I've bought two of my birds-Yoda and Solo-at this sale.
Yet after all of the sales I've gone to I would still feel very uncomfortable going to a dog auction. Logically it doesn't make much sense I guess-even medium sized parrots are at least as socially aware (if not more so), and probably more intelligent than a dog-but somehow it's just different to me.
So how do you feel about selling animals at auction? Do you feel more comfortable with certain species being auctioned off than others? Have you or would you buy an animal at auction?