United States-Horses being abandoned because of amimal welfare groups.

UNITED STATES-HORSES BEING DUMPED IN RECESSION.

Sheriff Gary Painter told county commissioners Monday the economic recession is prompting livestock owners to abandon their animals and force him to round them up and auction them.

He reported having exceeded his $4,000 "estray" budget by $1,300 and was allocated another $4,000 for the expenses of catching horses and cattle, advertising to seek their owners and usually selling them.

"It’s sad because all they would have to do is take them to the auction themselves," Painter said afterward. "That way, they’d get something out of it for themselves instead of putting it back on the taxpayers."

He said Sgt. Curtis Becker had to call a (cowboy) contractor at 3 a.m. Sunday morning to rope two horses north of Farm-to-Market Road 307 at County Road 1130 near Greenwood.

Painter explained the Texas Legislature made sheriffs responsible for catching, boarding, advertising the status of and selling such livestock in the estray law.