Emaciated Horses Found at Jonesboro Farm

The state Agriculture Department is saying it has found nine “extremely emaciated” horses at a Jonesboro farm.

A department spokesman said two dead horses were found on the farm yesterday.

Officials found the farm Tuesday. They had received numerous calls about skinny horses at the farm. It belongs to Dr. Phillip Breaton. Inspectors returned to the farm with a veterinarian a day later.

The horses have been moved to state stables in Newton County. A spokesman for the Agriculture Department says they are expected to recover.

Ten other horses were left on the property. They were considered to be in better condition than the others. Officials left written instructions on how to care for them.

(AP)

Georgia Equine Law Challenged

A federal lawsuit has targeted an obscure Georgia law that allows state officials to seize starving horses. To be heard in front of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today is the case of 46 horses seized from a southwest Georgia farm by state agriculture officials. Edna Reams says the horses were taken without due process, and she wants the federal court to overturn the law. The law being challenged is the Humane Care for Equines Act. Georgia’s Agriculture Department says it gets more than 1,200 complaints about horse abuse each year. Last year, about 300 ailing horses were taken-in.

Multiple cases of equine virus in south Georgia

State health officials have confirmed six positive cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis found in five horses in south Georgia. The most recent cases were found in Lowndes County, which had two. One case each was confirmed in Berrien, Brooks, Cook and Lanier counties. For the entire state, nine cases of the mosquito-borne virus have been confirmed for the year—that’s up from six recorded for all of last year. The EEE virus has similarities to that of West Nile. However, a south Georgia health official tells the Valdosta Daily Times that most people bitten by a mosquito carrying EEE will not become sick. The virus cannot be transmitted from horse to person.

Blaze in northwest Cobb County kills 14 horses

14 horses were killed in a barn fire late Thursday night in northwest Cobb County. Firefighters were called to the scene around 11pm and found the barn fully engulfed in flames. A Cobb fire spokesman says the fire appears accidental, but because of the amount of damage, time will be needed for a final determination of cause. The owner’s of the barn provide boarding services for horses. Officials say it’s unclear how many horses belonged to the owners, and the number belonging to others boarding their animals there.

Drought Hitting Hay Prices, and Horse Breeders

Buglioli with one of her horses. (Courtesy Little Creek Farm)

The prolonged drought is hurting many agricultural areas in Georgia, among others, hay growers for horses and livestock.

Prices for a bale of hay for Georgia horse breeders and boarders have more than doubled this winter.

Kathy Buglioli of Little Creek Farm in Upatoi near Columbus, blames the drought.

She says her business has seen prices for a single 900 pound bale that feeds horses for only three days - jump from $30 to $50, and even $100 dollars:

“…it has affected hay production to the point of reducing not only the number of bales that the hay farmers get per acre during the harvest season, but also how many times there able to get a cutting.”

She says other boarders are buying from Florida and Louisiana, where hay is cheaper.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Rescued horses go up for auction

27 horses rescued from neglect earlier this year go up for auction Saturday. The state Department of Agriculture is hosting the sale in Jasper County north of Macon. The horses were among nearly 100 the state rescued in February from a farm in Pike County. You can link to more information about the auction – including to a color catalogue -- here.

Horse abuse and neglect up in Georgia

The Georgia Department of Agriculture says more horses are being abused. Officials say the drought has a lot to do with the problem. The lack of rain led to hay shortages, and the closing of slaughterhouses. A downturn in the economy also contributed to the problem.

In February inspectors declared an emergency on a Pike County farm where they impounded 99 horses and other animals. Only one of those horses died. The Department of Agriculture can bring civil charges against people who do not take care of their animals. Criminal actions must be pursued by local law enforcement.

The Department of Agriculture says they receive no funds to help care for the animals they are required to impound. The agency does receive some help from the Georgia Equine Rescue league who also own and operate their own foster and adoption programs.