On Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Humane Society of Missouri’s Longmeadow Rescue Ranch responded to reports of a horrific tractor-trailer accident on I-44 near St. Clair, Mo., that involved 42 horses bound for slaughter.

At 3:15 a.m., Longmeadow Rescue Ranch Director Earlene Cole received a call from the Franklin County Sheriff’s office about the overturned trailer. Cole, who served as incident commander, immediately assembled a team of veterinarians and rescue personnel who arrived on the scene shortly after 4:00 a.m.

At the scene, the rescue team immediately devised a plan for animal removal from the trailer and on-scene medical attention for the injured horses. Of the 42 horses, 26 were rescued and taken for triage and assessment. Seven of the horses died in the accident and nine seriously injured horses were humanely euthanatized at the direction of the veterinarian on the scene.

“A horse trailer accident is a horse person’s worst nightmare. In this case, it was especially egregious because the trailer was double-stacked with horses and going to a slaughter house,” said Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri