Abandoned horses rounded up

HIALEAH, Fla. (WSVN) -- The South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty has rounded up several abandoned horses over-taking a South Florida farming community but more remain on the loose.

Farmers in the area have complained to police that scores of horses left to fend for themselves in the Northwest Miami-Dade area have been destroying their property and stealing their feed. "The Lieutenant comes, and he said, 'Well, we don't have enough police officers to patrol the area," said Pete Hernandez, one of the frustrated farmers.

Hialeah Police actually contacted the SPCA to get the round up on the way. By Monday afternoon, the SPCA had captured 11 horses within a one-and-half-mile area, in the western corner of Hialeah, but as many as 15 to 20 remain on the loose.

The horses have also presented a danger to drivers on Northwest 138th Street and 97th Avenue. "They're out there. They get in the street," said SPCA Spokesperson Laurie Waggoner. "There is no fence around the property. The animals are continually on the street."

The SPCA blames former owners of the animals for dumping them because they either did not want to or could not afford to take care of the animals. Now those horses have wreaked havoc on farmers' property. "They're breaking into other peoples' property because they're hungry," Waggoner explained, "and when people go to feed their other animals, these horses are breaking in to try to get the feed and hay that are available to those animals, and their cows also are having a real hard time eating because every time they feed them, here comes 20 horses that don't belong to them to take their food."

Some of the animals were found malnourished and have special needs. "Many of them are underweight," said Waggoner. "You can see ribs on most of them because the horses, they're not being fed. They've just been dumped out there to kind of fend for themselves. It's a lot of weeds. There is some grass, but, for the most part, it's weeds, and they just can't maintain body weight out there."

Once they are restored to health, the SPCA will make the horses available for adoption. Contact the SPCA if you would like to help.

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