Hoarding - 464 animals seized
Las Cruces, NM (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008
County: Dona Ana
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Maria Troncoso
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Animal control officers spent most of Wednesday at the scene of the county's latest animal hoarding case.
This time, the number of animals was initially thought to be up to 500. But by late in the day, the estimate was lowered to about 250 in a case that originated with the homeowners self-reporting a sick horse on their property in late July.
A small army of investigators and animal rescue personnel descended on a home in the 9300 block of Grandview Street on Las Cruces' East Mesa, a mostly rural part of the county, shortly before noon Wednesday.
Preliminary estimates were that several hundred birds - including parakeets, roosters, pigeons and geese - were in and around the property, Dona Ana County animal control supervisor Curtis Childress said.
The birds are in addition to at least a dozen goats and sheep, some horses and cats.
The owners of the home were identified as Maria Troncoso and her husband, whose name was not immediately available. The couple's son, said to be in his late teens, also lives at the home.
As of early Wednesday evening, officers had accounted for 16 dogs, two horses and 85 birds.
Childress could not say what the couple's intent was in keeping so many animals or whether some of the birds were for the purpose of selling. It was unclear what the couple's occupation is.
Childress said charges, depending on the condition of the animals, are possible. At the very least, the home was in violation of county ordinance that allows a maximum of six animals in a home, 15 if a special permit is requested and issued.
"If they're healthy, that's great," Childress said. "If they're not, that's something that has to be assessed."
Animal control officers have been preparing for removal of the animals for weeks.
Childress said the owners of the home in late July asked a third party to contact animal control in hopes of receiving assistance with a sick horse.
The horse was removed, Childress said, and animal control had since been giving the homeowners time to correct the situation while at the same time preparing resources like the city-county animal shelter and animal rescue organizations to provide care for the animals.
The couple had disposed of about 40 chickens since, in addition to a few of the goats. But for the most part, the animals found in the home in late July were still there Wednesday.
"I knew they had a horse that was really skinny, but that was it," said Danette Gonzales, 19, a neighbor also living on Grandview. "That's weird that they had so many. I didn't really ever hear any noises."
The county has seen a number of animal hoarding cases in the past two years. But Wednesday's is one of the largest. Most of the earlier cases were in the low 100s for the amount of animals. This is also the first that deals with mostly birds.
Case UpdatesDona Ana County animal control officers have counted 464 dogs, cats, birds, sheep, rabbits and other animals seized from the grounds of a mobile home.
They say 19 species were found on the 2.8-acre pro perty in the latest animal-hoarding case in the Las Cruces area.
Animal control supervisor Curtis Childress says typical hoarding cases involve dogs or cats, not what he called the smorgasbord found Wednesday.
Childress says there's some indication some animals were used for food.
He says many of the birds are ailing.
A county ordinance allows up to six animals, although a special permit can be obtained for up to 15.
The home's owners were identified as Maria Troncoso and her husband, whose name was not immediately available. | Source: El Paso Times - Sep 13, 2008
Update posted on Sep 13, 2008 - 5:08PM |
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