Since our last update we have received over 200 pages of documents via the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy act. In these documents there was indeed heartbreaking evidence of animal neglect at Ross Farm Museum.
From the provincial vet Alex Stavert regarding the two horses, Kate and Willy, that ended up being surrendered by Ross Farm Museum:
“A combination of poor feeding regimes, improper foot care, and laminitis have put Willy’s quality of life and welfare into despair. This horse appears to have been subject to chronic, poor decisions about his health and negligent routine day-to-day care.”
“As with the private vet’s report, I too find it disheartening that Kate was allowed to be in pain for a significant amount of time likely leading to her defensive behaviour.”
“It has been suggested Kate and Willy be surrendered to the FAW program in hopes of finding a new owner and custodian able and competent enough to work with these animals.”
These two horses were thankfully surrendered to FAW by Ross Farm Museum and are now under the love and care of Susan Fraser.
Yet Marc Tassé, Executive Director of Ross Farm Museum, had no problem going on record, defending past treatment of horses at Ross Farm Museum and stating “Willie is a diabetic and needs intense care and medication, and Kate was temperamental and standoffish, often nipping at people. Because of those things, the farm decided they weren’t a good fit for that environment.”
As a Nova Scotia citizen, YOU can help make a more promising future at Ross Farm Museum a reality! We are working hard to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
The New Ross District Museum Society (NRDMS), who has historically managed Ross Farm Museum through a Board of Directors, is holding a “Special Meeting” at the farm on September 11th at 6:30pm.
We have already recruited over 25 new members of the NRDMS and requested a full board election to take place at this meeting. To ensure a whole new Board of Directors is elected, we need a surge more of new memberships to the NRDMS to show up at the September meeting and VOTE for change.
We are happy to help with the membership process. Please click on this link to get started now:
Also, thank you to Suzanne Rent from the Halifax Examiner for her recent article titled “Animal advocates want changes on Ross Farm Museum board”. This article is very detailed, a wealth of information for those interested in learning more about our current efforts.