Is this animal abuse?

[Nor-Cal Chickens]

Any call you make (except PETA) would hopefully help remedy the situation.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Do not report them for abuse. Report them for neglect. Neglect is subject to interpretation, but in the case you describe, almost any moral person, and any pet owner, would interpret these conditions as neglect. Additionally almost every state has laws against animal neglect.

This it sounds like there is enough to prove neglect depending on your state. And if it is abuse that can be added to the list of charges later.

It actually may not be abuse. It depends on the laws of OP's state. And contacting peta is the absolute worst thing OP can do! If they want to contact animal control thats up to them. But contacting peta would be bad for all concerned

Another vote not to call PETA here they may have been a decent organization at one point but they’ve really gone off the deep end these days.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Also, when there was a fire,they left them locked in the pen

@Fluffy_the_chicken In case no one else tells you, IMHO You are a wonderful person.

 

[Weeg]

@Fluffy_the_chicken In case no one else tells you, IMHO You are a wonderful person.

The pen size in and of itself might not be illegal but the hobbling and dead goats are. I would do you best to film it without being seen (picture or video) and report it to your local animal control and health department. Build up some evidence first if you can.

I 100% percent agree with both of these posts! Photography and videos are your selling point. You are an amazing person for caring for these sweet goats! Amazing job!

 

[SulkyBantam]

Take a photo of the dead ones quickly before they are removed.

 

[CJLR]

Our neighbors have a herd of goats, who have a small pen about 13 by 13 pen with around 10-14 goats that live in the mud, and there hobbled to roots in the ground when they try to escape. Today I saw a Nanny and her kids laying dead in the yard for I don’t know how long. Is this abuse? They don’t want to talk ever and the goats only have a small shak open on two sides for shelter. I am worried and they look very sad and depressed. They try to get out any chance they get.

Not abuse but definitely neglect.
Take a picture of the dead one as evidence and try to gather as much information as you can before making a complaint.
Try to figure out if and when they are feeding and watering them.
Take pictures of the goats in the rain and when they hobble them to roots also take pictures of their hoofs most likely they haven't been trimmed in a while.
In most states as long as the animals have access to some sort of water and food then the authorities can't do anything about it.
When you call try to give as much detail as possible as well as tell them any injuries the goats have

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Okay, I'm a bit confused, how is tethering (I'm assuming that's what you mean by hobbling) neglect? Were they home during the fire? It isn't their fault that the goats were penned during a fire if they weren't home to do anything.

 

[Weeg]

Hobbling and tethering are two completely different things. IMO, hobbling constantly is neglect, and tethering is not.
A tethered goat-

Hobbled goat-

A hobble is a rope, or band that binds the legs together so they can't move quickly. Keeping an animal like this constantly is neglect.
Another hobble-

 

[Fluffy_the_chicken]

13 of WHAT each way? Feet? Meters? Pieces of fence?

What measurement makes a BIG difference.
13 x 13 meters is more than 10 times as much space as 13 x 13 feet.

Feet

 

[NatJ]

a small pen about 13 by 13 pen with around 10-14 goats

Feet

So the pen is about 13x13 = 169 square feet
That would be about 17 square feet per goat for 10 goats, or 12 square feet each for 14 goats.

That's around the minimum recommended for goats, but not absolutely awful.

the goats only have a small shak open on two sides for shelter.

Whether that's enough depends on the climate. Of course it's not enough if there's a blizzard or hurricane, but it might be fine in more normal kinds of weather.

From what you describe, it does not sound like good living conditions, but I'm not sure whether it would be bad enough to count as abuse or neglect. (Not an expert, just giving my own guess based on what you've said.)