13 horses seized, 2 found with testicles tied to tails
Evans, CO (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011
County: Weld
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 4 files available
Alleged: Jose Louis Meza-Franco
Thirteen horses, many of them in dire shape due to starving and unsafe conditions, were removed from the property of a rural Evans man Tuesday and authorities said the man could face charges of animal cruelty.
The owner, Jose Louis Meza-Franco, 33, has not been charged yet, but sheriff's reports and court records indicate he will likely be arrested after the Weld District Attorney's Office reviews the case.
The case began oddly as an investigation into possible cockfighting on the property, after an Animal Control Officer saw a rooster with the comb cropped closely to the head. Sheriff's deputy Vicki Harbert stated in the court affidavit on the case, "There is no other reason to remove the comb of a rooster, other than for animal fighting."
Using that information, the deputies were able to get a search warrant for the property Tuesday and began searching for other evidence of cockfighting. "We were able to see the one rooster with the cropped comb," Animal Control Officer Gary Schwartz said, "but found no other evidence."
But while they were on the property, deputies found 13 horses that appeared to be in very bad physical shape from possible starvation.
The Henneke Body Condition Scoring System for horses is an indication of the physical condition. They are scored 1 to 9, with 1 being the poorest condition. Of the horses taken from the property, Schwartz said one of them scored a 1 on the scale, others had a 3.5.
Taken from the property were 13 horses -- seven mares, three geldings, two stallions and a colt. In addition to the starvation conditions, the officers also reported many of the horses had scars and marks from injuries, likely from so many junked vehicles and other trash on the property.
"The two stallions were in pretty good condition," Schwartz said, "but they were being kept in a fully enclosed 10-foot stall, where there was no daylight, and they were standing in their own feces and urine."
All of the horses were taken to an undisclosed location to be cared for and fed. While most horses will eat 20-30 pounds of hay in a day, the recovered horses ate seven bales on Tuesday, or about 50 pounds each.
In another unusual aspect of the case, officers found two geldings had been castrated within the past few days, and the officers found the horses' testicles had been tied to their tails.
This baffled the officers, but one suggested it may be some kind of superstition that the procedure makes the horse run faster.
Meza-Franco was arrested in 2005 on charges of animal cruelty for his treatment of dogs he owned, according to the affidavit. A family member, Juan Meza also was arrested on cockfighting charges when deputies found 16 roosters, which had been altered for fighting.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez said deputies issued a notice to Meza-Franco that he would have 10 days to pay $1,800 for the care of the horses, or they would become the property of a horse rescue group. References |
