FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a state known for its love of horses, a newly adopted bill will help combat the issue of stray horses by shortening the time officials have to hold a stray before it can be "rehomed."
House Bill 312 passed through the latest General Assembly session with little opposition. The bill shortens the 90 day wait period to 15 days, an act that will save local governments money and make the whole issue of what to do with strays a little easier to handle, according to Ginny Grulke, the legislative liaison for the Kentucky Horse Council (KHC).
She said many of the statutes regarding livestock were written in the 1940s and are out of sync with today’s world. In this particular situation, the time required to hold a stray horse was too long.
"In a lot of cases the horses are owned by someone but may get to places they shouldn’t be so they have to be treated like strays until the owner comes to get them," said Grulke. "Every county is strapped for funds and this horse care, when one is taken up, comes out of their budget – and they just don’t have the money to do it."
The KHC and a coalition of stakeholders interested in the well-being of horses, including the Kentucky County Judge Executives Assoc., the Office of the State Veterinarian and the Kentucky Farm Bureau, to name a few, came together to push for this legislation.
The bill not only will help local governments save money when it comes to these matters, but it allows those horses that don’t have owners get to rescue operations or new owners quicker.
During the height of the recession, unattended horses became a problem in many areas in the state. Grulke said that problem has leveled off; however, many areas in Eastern Kentucky still have many horses roaming over mountaintop areas once used for strip-mining.
In fact it was a practice for many horse owners to turn their horses loose on the flat mountaintop areas during the winter. Grulke said because there is so little flat pasture land in these areas to begin with, there was always this kind of unwritten agreement between local horse owners and the coal mine people to allow those horses to winter there and the owners would get them in the spring.
Because of tough economic times and few horse rescue operations in the area, some animals were brought to the old mined locations and left. Now, one of the reasons the stray horse population in Eastern Kentucky is more prevalent than in other parts of the state is the presence of stallions running loose and breeding. This is keeping the population growing even if no other horses are turned loose.
Another problem has been the movement of these stray horses when the food on the mountaintops runs out. Grulke said some of the animals are ending up in roadways causing a public safety hazard.
In addition to shortening the waiting period, the bill also requires county judge/executives to contract with a licensed veterinarian, who will document the stray equine’s breed, color, sex, marks, brands, scars, and other distinguishing features, perform a microchip scan, and identify the existence of lip tattoos, freeze brands, or microchips, according to a summary of the bill from the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
The bill will also require the owner/claimant of the stray equine to reimburse the county judge/executive for the cost of the veterinarian assessment.
Grulke said as part of the process, a website will be created to post information about found horses complete with photos and a description of the horse.
A statement issued by the coalition thanked state Rep. Tom McKee and state Sen. Robin Webb for "championing" the bill, as well as a thanks to Kentucky Gov. Steve Behear for quickly signing the bill into law.
