Published May 3, 2016 on Morgan Hill Life’s website
By: Trina Hineser
Trina Hineser
There’s no horsing around when it comes to horses in San Martin and the South County.
This April at the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance’s quarterly meeting, representatives from Animal Care and Control and from the Sheriff’s Rural Crime Unit spoke about their role in the South County taking care of our animal friends. They reiterated how imperative it is to call in and report concerns to ACC if you see or are aware of large animal/livestock abuse. Please don’t think someone else has called in, they stressed. Instead, play it safe and take two or three minutes to call ACC and report your concern.
The numbers are:
Animal Care & Control at (408) 201-0660
Sheriff’s Rural Crime Unit at (408) 299-2311
Grady, a rescued horse
Many in our community will recall the highly publicized horse seizure that took place in 2014. The 38 rescued horses in South County were malnourished, injured, and/or pregnant when the seizure took place. The horse abuser was prosecuted with felony animal abuse charges, denied the privilege of owning any animals for the next 10 years, and ordered to pay more than $100,000 of restitution, allocated between the nine horse rescuers that took the horses.
The aftermath of this animal abuse case is that precedent was set for future cases in unincorporated South County. Because the community spoke out about the abuse to large animal/livestock, action was taken. South County exemplified how a community, county departments and rescuers from surrounding counties can work together towards a common goal.
Since 2014, a stronger relationship has been built between the District Attorney’s Office and Animal Care and Control. By establishing earlier communication between these two entities, many more animal abuse cases have since been successfully prosecuted in South County. This year alone, there have been at least 10 livestock animal abuse cases prosecuted.
The efforts of our Santa Clara County District Supervisor Mike Wasserman resulted in the ACC officers receiving additional training specific to horses through U.C. Davis, and the hiring of an additional experienced large animal ACC officer. However, we still need people to call in and speak up for these large animals/livestock, as they cannot speak for themselves.
ACC is regularly challenged. The number of large animal/livestock rescuers in Santa Clara County is limited. In the case of the 2014 horse rescue, surrounding counties stepped up and helped rehabilitate so many of the grossly abused horses from South County. These rescuers continue on a daily bases to care for and help in the healing of abused large animal/livestock. You can help support these heroic horse rescuers through donations, volunteering, or by attending upcoming events.
Trina Hineser is the president of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
Upcoming events that help horses:
Horses Healing Hearts www.horseshealingheartsinc.org
Equine Guided Education – By Appointment Only
Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
For a spot RSVP to [email protected]
ERC (Equine Rescue Center) www.equinerescuecenter.com
Annual Benefit – Saturday May 21 from 4-9 p.m.
12467 Creekview Court, San Martin
Tickets are $50 per person.
PMR (Pregnant Mare Rescue) www.pregnantmarerescue.org
10 Year Anniversary – Saturday June 25 from 3 to 9 p.m.
Castlewood Ranch 150 Nunes Rd. Aptos Hills
Tickets are $20 per person.
