(February 23, 2023)
Several members of the Houston SPCA Animal Cruelty Investigations team, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and Dayton Police Department’s Animal Control spent the morning rescuing 11 emaciated farm animals including two bulls, six heifers, two bull calves, and a longhorn. The starving animals were discovered living among five animal carcasses including what appears to be two juvenile longhorns on a property thick with mud and littered with debris in Dayton.
Officials at the scene said the animals had been abandoned with no access to food or water. All the animals were removed from the property and are receiving individualized medical treatment from Houston SPCA veterinary staff as well as the equine and farm animal team.
Liberty County Sheriff’s Department served a search warrant that allowed the Houston SPCA to rescue the animals and bring them into their care. The owner could face up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine for animal cruelty. The Houston SPCA’s 10-member animal cruelty investigations team works very closely with local law enforcement in and around the greater Houston area to end cruelty including Liberty County and Dayton PD, and nine other surrounding Texas counties.
The Houston SPCA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that operates solely on donations. They are not affiliated with any other animal welfare organization, locally or nationally.