Louisiana SPCA blows off woman's complaints about starving horses... until media gets involved

LOUISIANA -- Emaciated horses are raising big concerns about possible animal cruelty in one Lower Algiers community.

The Louisiana SPCA says it is now investigating, but some in the community say it is not doing enough.

"That's what caught my eye, when I saw this horse and the backbone is showing, the hip bone is showing," says Patty, a concerned neighbor and horse owner.

Patty says she snapped photos of the malnourished horses when saw that the animals had no hay, no food and hardly any water in their trough.
 

 

  

"It makes me feel very bad to know that something is starving," says Patty. "If you are going to take on an animal you should be able to afford to feed the animal."

Patty asked that we not use her real name or identify her because she knows the Lower Algiers man who owns the horses and has filed a complaint with the Louisiana SPCA.

She says she talked to someone at the SPCA several times in the last three weeks, but says her concerns are not being taken seriously.

"She says it's normal and it's not against the law to have skinny horses on your property," says Patty. "She said they could be sick and I said, 'They could be starving.'"

 

 

However, a spokesperson for the SPCA says they have not receive a complaint until today. The SPCA says it is going investigate and has already scheduled to have an officer come out to the property.

The SPCA also says they have seized animals from the property in the past and charged the owner with animal cruelty. However, they say he was found not guilty on all counts.

This doesn't mean the person wasn't guilty... it COULD mean that the DA's Office in this county made some "backdoor deal".

Patty says considering the owner's questionable past, she has no doubts the horses are being mistreated and just hopes the SPCA will step in before it is too late.

 

 

"I just hope they take them and put them in a nice place," says Patty. "Let someone love them and be able to take care of them. They are really beautiful horses."

Eyewitness News tried contacting the horses' owner, but were only able to talk to a caretaker on the property, who said the owner is out of town. The caretaker went on to say the horses are healthy and being fed twice a day.

(WWLTV - July 15, 2015)