Social media is an excellent gift for people who like to judge others and pass along misinformation or lies about strangers they know nothing about.
From the minute I began writing about the Amish, messages started popping up on my blog and Facebook Page accusing me of glorifying and enabling animal abusers, especially horse abusers. The Amish, they wrote, abuse their horses.
During my experience writing about the New York Carriage Horses, I confronted a sad but epidemic phenomenon – extremist members of animal rights groups lied.
If they could never prove abuse, which they never could with the carriage horses, they made it up and used phony photographs to raise money from good-hearted and unsuspecting people.
You would think there is enough genuine animal abuse that people wouldn’t need to make it up to get money out of people who mean well. It was my first exposure to the Big Lie, which is now standard and well-known. The Internet is the daddy of the big lie.
It’s free, easily made anonymous, and without consequence for lies or cruelty.
There are several proven cases of the Amish overworking and thus abusing their horses in different states. But not here. By writing about my new neighbor Moise Miller, they said, quite outraged, I was supporting animal abuse.
The idea was that if some families mistreated their horses, then all of them did. How interesting that that standard of justice is not applied to the non-Amish, the most documented animal and horse abusers anywhere.
I spent much time on Miller Farm over the last two years. I have never seen any evidence of animal abuse of any kind. Their horses do work often and hard, as working horses do. They are not pets; they are tools of the farm.
They are treated well. Sheltered, brushed, trimmed, and well-fed with good grain.
They have open pastures across the road (above) to graze, comfortable, dry stalls in enclosed barns, and are constantly rotated and given a chance to rest as they go back and forth into town.
When they go up hills, they are rested in warmer weather.
The Amish have their ideas about animal care; their animals are not furbabies.
They respect their animals and value them. To abuse them would be to harm almost everything about the way they live.
There is absolutely nothing cruel or abusive about them, including their dog Tina, one of my favorite dogs in the world.
Do you have any evidence that my neighbors are abusing their animals?, I would ask. Now, was the answer but some Amish family in Pennsulvania did.
Driving by the Miller’s farm today, I saw their horses out in a pasture the family rents right across the road. They looked great.
The horses were grazing happily in a big room pasture, with grass still on the ground. The horse looked strong and tall, which shiny coats, white teeth and good posture.
Learning to spot lies is a skill many of us will have to learn. I’m happy to throw dust on this one. Some Amish families abuse there animals, I am sure. Some “English” people abuse their dogs, which I know.
The Miller family does not.
The Amish depend on their horses. Why ,in the world, would they treat them badly? My wife grew up in Lancaster County, PA. The one thing she mentions is there are some Amish known for over breeding of dogs to sell to pet stores.
There are all kinds of people known to overbreed and breed dogs irresponsibly, it is not an exclusive Amish practice. I’m sure some do it. But it has nothing to do with the Moise family, who don’t do it. Lots of people mistreat donkeys all over the world. But we don’t.
That’s Tins isn’t it? I’ve been wondering how she is doing.
What they are saying about the Amish and their horses is exactly what they have done to the circus community for years regarding their animals, one or two bad apples and we have all been tarred with the same brush and it’s not right, they have destroyed my culture my livelihood and my kids future, circus was once a magical world that brought pleasure to family’s world wide now it is looked upon as something sordid and full of abhorrent cruelty, and this is untrue.
Thank you Sallyann
There are good and bad in everything. Some Amish take good care of their animals and some don’t, just like the “English”. I think people in “rescue” get so bogged down with the misery they deal with that they forget that not everyone abuses or neglects their animals, runs puppy mills or sends their used up horses to auction. In fact most people in this country don’t but it’s hard to see that from the trenches I guess.
I wish the Miller family could share education amongst the Amish community regarding animal care & the respect work horses deserve. I left the horse rescue where I volunteer in tears today. Two horses from the Amish community were sent to a kill pen to be slaughtered after working their entire lives like a John Deere tractor. Our organization went & rescued these 2 mares & brought them to the sanctuary. I’ve never seen 2 horses in such bad shape in my entire life. Both malnourished & 1 has pneumonia. The other a severe injury on the back leg. Just pitiful & I see it so often where these Amish owned horses are dumped like trash!
Yes, I realize not all Amish treat their animals with neglect… but to see it in on this day, year & century is unforgivable!
I totally agree with your statement. The fact that this man is making the analogy that because his Amish neighbors treat their animals therefore most Amish do shows his ignorance. I work with animal rescue and have seen so much of the above events that you describe. I also have my own opinions of the Amish after growing up in Western Pennsylvania. My experience has not been so wholesome. The Amish have done some work for my family and I find them to be crude and uneducated. They have no problem whipping their horses to run up a hill in 80 degree weather- I have seen it. And the fact that this man is a writer of his animal love for animals is absurd. It makes me so angry that he is making money off of these books and has the nerve to turn around and write several article on his blog like this.
Of course C this makes sense, nobody who disagrees with you should be allowed to write books. I’ll stop right away,
I do not believe that all people from one group are inherently good or bad. During my time in New York City, I had the opportunity to observe carriage horses. Despite the widespread belief that they are mistreated, I witnessed firsthand that this is not the case. Therefore, I am inclined to trust Jon Katz’s account as accurate and reliable.
You are remarkably rational. I don’t know about all Amish I only know my neighbors I see them and their horses and animals every day. The slandering and hatred directed at them without one bit of evidence is a shameful travesty and the fact that I defend them has brought much hatred on me. I can handle it. I won’t abandon my neighbors on the basis of lies and bigotry. Thanks for your decency and fairness. .These hateful people have no decency. They are happy to smear all Amish even though many are different. I am proud to stand against another vicious mob. Thank you for thinking for yourself. Sadly some elements of the animal rights movement have become just another hate group. Shame on them. Animals deserve better advocacy.