Horse Owner Convicted in Moving Animals Under Quarantine

People v. Talaske, 2006 Mich. App. LEXIS 1129 (Mich. Ct. App. April 11, 2006)

In this unpublished opinion from Michigan, Talaske, an owner of 14 horses, was convicted of four felony counts of moving animals in violation of a state department of agriculture quarantine. His horses were boarded at a farm where the manager was given written notice of quarantine because the horses had not received tests for equine infections anemia (EIA). Talaske was acting pursuant to an eviction by the owner of the stable at which his horses were boarded, and he removed them the day before the court sitting in the eviction order required him to.

Talaske argued that he was never personally served with a quarantine notice, and that such is a necessary element of the violations he was convicted of. The court disagreed, holding that the statute was unambiguous, and the defendant could not avoid the reach of the statute by reading into it a notice requirement that was not there.

This is a troubling outcome to such a case where an animal owner acting in response to the order of one court runs afoul of another, even though he may have had oral notice of the necessary testing-one suspects that Talaske was between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

The takehome has to be that making absolutely sure you're on solid ground with regulatory authorities is a necessary precondition to moving animals when one is not regularly in that line of business or knowledgeable in the field. A little research can prevent a carload of heartache and bad consequences.

EIA is a serious illness that has substantial adverse health effect potential for equidae. A good resource may be found at the following Utah BLM website.

http://www.ut.blm.gov/HorseEIA/horseia.html