Horse neglect - 15 seized, one dead
Renton, WA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008
County: King
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: man
One horse was found dead, more than a dozen others were rescued and their owner was arrested after Animal Control officers raided a farm.
King County Sheriff's deputies arrested the 63-year-old for first-degree animal cruelty. The arrest came moments after a dead horse was found on the property.
"One horse is dead, five others in poor condition," said Al Dams with King County Animal Control.
In all, volunteers seized 15 horses. All will be examined by veterinarian and nursed by volunteers.
The owner's neighbor claims she has witnessed the horses being neglected and abused for years.
"He had his horses tied up all day in the sun without food and water for training purposes," said the woman who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. "One last summer, a horse was so hungry it was eating its own feces."
The neighbor claims she's been speaking out for years. She says she'd sent complaints to authorities in the past.
"Nobody's done anything," she said. "It's about time somebody did something."
Officials initially gave the owner an improvement plan to follow. But when they stopped by on Wednesday for a follow-up, they found a dead horse.
"He had started on the plan but did not make sufficient progress," said Dams.
The name of the owner has not been released. References« WA State Animal Cruelty Map
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