75 starved horses in Camp Co. seized

By LORI COPE | Country World East Texas

June 14, 2001 -- Seventy-five head of starving Arabian horses were seized from a Camp County property on June 4 and the two owners have been notified of the warrants issued against them citing 60 counts of cruelty to animals.

Camp County Sheriff Alan McCandless reported that his office received a complaint about the horses' condition on May 30.

"We investigated and gave a recommendation to the owners to supply hay, additional feed, and to get a vet on the premises, on an immediate basis," said McCandless. The horses were being kept on 76 acres in Camp County.

"We went back out there Monday (June 4) and they had supplied a little more hay, but nothing else. ... So we started procedures for seizure," he said.

Of the 75 horses seized by the sheriff's department, one died on June 6 and McCandless said on June 7 that they were considering putting at least one more down. The sheriff related that all the horses seized were "affected by starvation."

The horses are being kept on private property in the county. A hearing has been set for 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 15, in the Justice of the Peace court in Pittsburg. From the hearing, a determination of whom will be awarded the horses will be made, according to the sheriff. "There is potential that all could be adopted out."

McCandless said he expects the owners, who are currently out of state, to be present at the June 15 hearing. The 60 counts of animal cruelty the owners face are considered a misdemeanor.

On June 6, amendments to the state's cruelty to animals act were signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry. The new rules, which do not go into effect until Sept. 1, will increase the punishment in animal cruelty cases.

The new law cited the offenses of starvation, abandonment, cruelly transporting, injuring another's pet, or seriously overworking an animal are Class A misdemeanors but that any of these offenses is a state jail felony if the person has twice been convicted.

Some offenses, including torturing, killing or poisoning another's pet, causing one animal to fight another, using a live animal in dog race training or racing, and tripping a horse, is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the person has already twice been convicted two times.

When it comes to children, the new law states that if a child has engaged in any of the animal cruelty acts, the juvenile court will order the child to participate in psychological counseling.