71 Starving Cattle Seized From Grayson County Property
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GRAYSON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Before a custody hearing Wednesday, an agreement was reached between the Grayson County Sheriff's Office, the SPCA of Texas and the owner of 71 cruelly treated cattle for the animal owner to relinquish ownership of the animals to the SPCA of Texas.
The owner also agreed to pay $2,700 in expenses to cover what it cost to care for the cattle from the day of the seizure through the day of the hearing. All of the animals will now be individually evaluated for potential placement.
On September 22, under the authority of the Grayson County Sheriff's Office, the SPCA of Texas seized and took custody of 71 cruelly treated head of cattle from a property in rural Grayson County near Van Alstyne. The animals did not have access to appropriate food or water.
The cattle were found on almost 100 acres of nearly bare pasture land. Many of the cattle are severely underweight. The owner admitted to authorities that he had given the cattle six round bales of hay in the last approximately 1 week period. An appropriate amount of food for 71 head of cattle would be 20-30 round bales of hay per week. The remnants of the six bales of hay on the property were moldy, and the cattle had been attempting to eat around the mold without success.
The owner also admitted he knew that the stock pond on the property did not have sufficient water for the cattle and that he needed to bring more water, yet he did not do so. The one stock pond found on the property did not contain enough water to properly sustain 71 head of cattle, and was stagnant. The water troughs found on the property were bone dry.
The Grayson County Sheriff's Office and the SPCA of Texas have received multiple complaints of animal cruelty in this case in the last four weeks and have been working with the owner to bring the animals' conditions into compliance with Texas Health and Safety Code. When the animal owner refused to provide sufficient food and water for the cattle, the SPCA of Texas and the Grayson County Sheriff's Office agreed that it was in the animals' best interest to obtain a seizure warrant and remove the animals before any of the cattle died.
SPCA of Texas vehicles transported the animals to an undisclosed location, where they were cared for until the custody hearing.
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