A Texas man has been charged with cruelty to animals involving six horses after parasites, lack of feed, and veterinary care caused the deaths of two of the horses.
Evidence of severe horse neglect
A Texas man has been charged with cruelty to animals involving six horses after parasites, lack of feed, and veterinary care caused the deaths of two of the horses.
In a hearing following the horse owner's surrender, a justice of the peace awarded custody of the three surviving horses to Habitat for Horses. The sixth horse had escaped from its stall and was grazing in a pasture and being fed by neighbors, and the owner will be able to keep that horse.
Jerry Finch, president of Habitat for Horses said it will take about six months to nurse the horses back to health. Once healthy they will be offered for adoption.
According to Texas City Officer Randall Johnston, if convicted, David Altamirano, 37, of Galveston could be fined up to $4,000 on each count and sentenced to as much as a year in jail. Altamirano was free Wednesday after posting a $4,000 bond.
Based on a complaint received by Habitat for Horses, police removed five of Altamirano's six mixed-breed horses from a stable on January 7, 2014.
The sixth horse had escaped from its stall and was grazing in a pasture and being fed by neighbors, he said.
"The two that died were yearlings and they were basically comatose when we got there," Finch said. A necropsy showed the horses died of starvation, lack of care and parasites, he said.
The judge ordered Altamirano to pay Habitat for Horses $7,350 for veterinary costs and future care, Finch said.