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A horse owner is under investigation after the Solano County Sheriff Animal Control were called about a dead horse and other malnourished ones on a rural property.
VACAVILLE, Calif. — Editor’s note: Some images and descriptions in the article and attached video may be disturbing to some readers.
A law enforcement animal cruelty investigation is underway in Solano County after a horse was found dead on a rural property.
The horse owner is under investigation after the Solano County Sheriff Animal Control were called to the De Mello Lane property in Vacaville by a neighbor, who reported a dead horse and other alleged abuses.
Neighbor Becca Hintz says authorities found one of the horses dead and others malnourished. She says one was so thin, it couldn’t stand and had to be euthanized.
The sheriff’s office tells ABC10 they’re investigating, but cannot release any other information.
“There is not much worse than seeing the innocent suffer,” said Hintz.
She says she was sick to her stomach when she saw the conditions the horses were in rural Vacaville.
“They were able to see all the bones that are laying out there from previous horses,” said Hintz. “There has never been hay in the pasture. They have some hay in a barn, but they have not been feeding it, that I have seen.”
Hintz says animal control responded quickly and found the dead horse covered in vultures. Hintz says other starving horses were removed from the property by animal control so they could be brought back to health.
“It is heartbreaking. You look at the horses out there now and several of them look thin,” said Hintz. “But they have bellies because they are pregnant because that is how you make money on them.”
She says the owner removed some of the horses from the property, which is leased out. She says it’s not the first time a horse has died on the pasture.
“It puts all of our animals at risk as it draws in their predators. We have a mountain lion that slipped in the orchard behind me, and it brings all of that in and puts our pets at risk,” said Hintz. “If we have small children, it can put them at risk. It is not okay. It is not how we should treat our animals.”
Hintz hopes the investigation prompts changes to how people take care of animals and increases punishments for people who are convicted of neglecting and abusing animals.
“It is a serious problem in California, we need to give our law enforcement teeth and our DA teeth,” said Hintz. “They can only do what the law allows.”
ABC10 tried to reach the owners but were unable to Saturday. No charges have been filed in this case and the investigation is ongoing.
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