Advocates: Animal Abuse Up, Help Coming

By ABC-7 Reporter Martin Bartlett

EL PASO — Animal advocates say the number of animal abuse cases is growing especially as the economy continues to shrink; they said Thursday’s apparent case of horse abuse in the Lower Valley just underscoresa growing need.

“There’s no excuse for that — that’s cruelty,” said Alfred Garcia, a who lives nearby the ranch where the apparently abused horses were found.

Of the dozens of dogs and cats and the Humane Society of El Paso, some of them got the break that those two Lower Valley horses never got: investigators say the owner couldn’t or didn’t give them enough to eat, and apparently, didn’t get any help for them, either.

“I’ve got a lot of critters at home, and they cost me a fortune,” said Betty Hoover, Executive Director of the Humane Society of El Paso. “ButI put them ahead of other things like, say, a trip to Starbucks.”

After years of work, the humane society and other volunteer groups are going to get a pet food bank up and running by the end of the year, she said.

“The food banks for people rely on donations and we will be relying on donations.”