PETA Statement: Ocala Breeders’ Sales Director Arrested, Charged with Robbery

For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2024

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-473-7382

Gainesville, Fla. –

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo regarding the Friday arrest of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales (OBS) director of sales for robbery by sudden snatch, Tod Wojciechowski. On Wednesday, OBS President Tom Ventura and the director of sales assaulted and took the backpack from a PETA investigator who was peacefully and legally filming the euthanasia of Frosten, a young, inexperienced Thoroughbred who was forced to run a timed sprint at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale under tack show. Frosten appeared to panic before colliding with the rail, sustaining a fatal injury. See the video here.

OBS executives are bullies who have resorted to robbery and assault to cover up the broken bones and mangled bodies of very young horses. They apparently fear the public will hear that they risk the lives of immature, inexperienced Thoroughbreds in “breakneck” sprints, all to drive up sales prices. Today, yet another horse is reported to have sustained a gruesome broken bone, and her back leg was dangling as she was euthanized on the track. PETA would have captured this horrific event on video, but OBS has now posted signs prohibiting videotaping without prior permission because we filmed a horse dying there earlier this week. The auction company can try to hide it, but PETA is determined to reveal the truth. We’re grateful to the Ocala Police Department, and we look forward to seeing justice done.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.