When I first heard this story of a Lubbock TX museum purchasing live mules to kill for an exhibit, I figured it was an Urban Myth.

I mean, c’mon… there had to be a better way to set up an exhibit other than buying and killing mules to stuff them?

Really?  Did they think kids would find this warm and fuzzy?…

Would visitors really find stuffed mules a compelling and educational display?

I thought not…

But, it ends up that this story is true.

Yup.

The American Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock, Texas just this week thought it was a good idea to purchase two live mules in order to stuff them for their exhibit.

They did it.

But not before a huge outcry…

You see, people got wind of this and immediately set out calling every legal body in Lubbock – only to find out that their outcry pushed the Museum to act more quickly.  In fact, the FB page “Save the Lubbock Mules” had just been set up when the Press Release came out stating that the mules were already dead.

…

Of course, the museum says that the mules were old anyway…

But I say, why would the museum want old and broken down mules for their display?…

Hmmmmm.

I guess we will see when the grotesque exhibit finally is revealed,eh?   I doubt we’ll be viewing Old Pokeys at the helm.

So sad.

HERE IS THE LUBBOCK MULE STORY…  (linked here, by Michael Walsh, NY Daily News)

A Texas museum bought and killed two mules for the sole purpose of stuffing them for an exhibit, provoking the ire of animal rights activists.

The American Museum of Agriculture in Lubbock, Texas, plans to construct a display for the McCormick reaper, a piece of mechanized equipment that revolutionized agriculture in the 19th century.

But the museum didn’t feel it would be complete without communicating that era’s reliance on animal power as well. Board members decided to purchase two mules from a nearby horse and mule trader to kill for the exhibit.

Elaine Nash, equine rights advocate, started a Facebook page called “Save the Lubbock Mules!” to protest the museum’s decision on Monday. Later that day, the museum issued a press release stating that the mules were already euthanized to be preserved by taxidermy.

“Their press release was in response to the noise we made about what they were doing,” Nash told the Daily News. “They were flooded with thousands of phone calls and the newspapers started pursuing the story. That’s when they created the press release because of the pressure we put on them.”

Nash also accused the museum of lying about the mules’ ages, after public outcry. The museum’s press release said they were 28 and 32 years old. But “initial reports were that the mules were fit, healthy, and in the 10 to 12 year age range,” according to fellow equine advocate Laurie Neillo.

The museum determined — with The Museum of Arts in Dallas — that they needed to kill animals for the exhibit because “the impact of the exhibit would be substantially diminished” if they used fiberglass replicas.

“The reason that you use a real animal is to most accurately show the way the activity was done at the time,” Phil Paramore of Museum Arts said in the press release.

“A fiberglass replica just doesn’t convey the same message. When we can find animals that were scheduled to be destroyed anyway and then immortalize them in an exhibit, we can really show their importance in the development of agriculture,” Paramore continued.

The museum claimed that original owner could no longer use the mules. If the museum had not purchased them, the owner would have transported the mules to Mexico to be slaughtered for dog food, according to the press release.

LET’S DO SOMETHING GOOD IN HONOR OF THE LUBBOCK MULES…

LET’S SAVE SOME HORSES TODAY!

One of the mare/foal pairs who are on the feedlot right now. We can help!

This is Sandy and it is her herd of 25 that are being auctioned off today! We can help them! click to read their story!

This is Lobo, the stallion… his herd captured.

In honor of the mules we couldn’t save…

LET’S HELP SAVE THESE 25 HORSES WHO ARE ON THE FEEDLOT TODAY!

Let’s help the good people who are on the ground there, right now, doing what they can to help!

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