Decaying horse deemed health hazard so city can step in

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some north Houston residents, frustrated after the city refused to remove a decaying horse from a vacant lot, are getting some good news. Neighbors contacted Eyewitness News after they said they couldn't get any resolution.

This all started with a call for help. Residents say someone tied up a horse in this vacant lot and after the horse died, they could not get anyone to remove it.

Residents say they called 311 for help but got nowhere and the smell was overpowering, so we started calling.

We called several city offices only to be told because the horse was on private property the city could not take it away.

City officials tell us they had to figure out a legal way to remove the problem and finally decided the horse was creating a health hazard and that gave them the ability to act.

Gary Readore with the Houston Solid Waste Department said, "The land owner was not, we were not able to find them, so that moved it into a health and safety issue because of the vector problem with the horse decaying and we had to make the decision for the health of the general public."

The city says if the residents had called when they first saw the horse tied up, things would have been different because the city could have helped oversee the rescue of the animal. The number to call to get help is 311.