WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
HOUSTON – Officials say there’s been a spike in horse-neglect cases in the Houston area and Texas.
In one animal cruelty case pending in Harris County, the horse was in such poor condition when it was seized, investigators thought it was dead.
"This is a case of severe animal cruelty and animal neglect," Assistant District Attorney Belinda Smith said.
Investigators believe the horse had been suffering perhaps for months, its hooves so overgrown and neglected, it could barely stand.
It was emaciated and had pressure sores on its hips from lying on the ground.
Authorities were forced to euthanize the animal, but they said its case is emblematic of a bigger problem.
"People are saying they just don’t want the animal anymore, and they’re leaving it behind like it was a TV or an old bed," Charles Jantzen, an animal cruelty investigator, said.
In fact, the Houston SPCA is expecting the number of horses coming into its facility to double.
Some describe it as a "perfect storm" for horse neglect.
"They’re bred indiscriminately. They live for 25 to 30 years. They’re very expensive. A bad economy, and we have a drought layered on top of that, it’s put horses – specifically Texas horses – in a very bad place," Houston SPCA President Patricia Mercer said.
Officials with the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society, a statewide rescue network, say their workload has increased by 1,000 percent this year.
Some people may be running out of resources. Others may simply be unable to care for the animals any longer.
Whatever the reason, the surge in cases is making it more difficult for organizations like Habitat for Horses to find not just permanent homes for the rescue animals, but also homes that are temporary.
Economic problems have forced many foster homes to close their doors.
Until recently, Texas was home to two of the nation’s three horse-slaughtering plants, shipping meat to Europe and Japan for human consumption. All three have since closed under mounting public opposition.
Supporters of the practice argued it was better to slaughter U.S. horses here instead of south of the border in Mexico, where the plants are less humane.
But this time last year, 11 News showed viewers never-before-seen government photos revealing that transport to slaughter – even in the U.S. – was perhaps more brutal than the slaughter itself.
Now, horse-slaughter proponents are pointing to the current neglect crisis as a reason to resume slaughter in the U.S.
Opponents counter that the only real solution is to stop over-breeding.
There are nearly 1 million horses in Texas alone.
"So the issues we have for horses in this country are not unlike the issues we have for cats and dogs," Mercer said.
Except for one – the owner of the emaciated horse at the beginning of this story, Nealy Jones, has been charged with cruelty to a livestock animal.
"This case, as horrific as it is, is a Class C Misdemeanor," Smith said.
In Texas, the law doesn’t give horses the same protections as it does cats and dogs.
