How is it that a horse suffering from regular abuse roams the streets of Tel-Aviv and labors for many hours in violation of the law, without receiving assistance from the responsible authorities – the Tel-Aviv Municipality and the Israeli police?
How is it that a horse suffering from regular abuse roams the streets of Tel-Aviv and labors for many hours in violation of the law, without receiving assistance from the responsible authorities – the Tel-Aviv Municipality and the Israeli police?
On Wednesday, 19.6.2013 at 14:30, the SPCA hotline received a call that reported a horse bridled to an iron-laden wagon. A SPCA representative visited the site and followed the horse on Tel-Aviv streets for five hours, with SPCA representatives constantly calling the Israeli police and the Tel-Aviv Municipality hotline to report the different locations of the horse.
Their calls were initially ignored and later false promises were given about inspectors who would arrive at the scene. Calls to the municipal veterinarian, Dr. Zvi Galin, went unanswered for over an hour. Ultimately, after nearly five hours of monitoring by the SPCA representative of the horse, city inspectors and police arrived and removed the horse from its abusive owners.
The miserable horse was taken by a special wagon to a SPCA stable, where it was examined by a veterinarian, who found the horse to be suffering from malnutrition as well as from injuries and wounds caused by its being bound to the wagon and from the whippings it received. The heavy weight that it pulled for a prolonged period of time seriously injured its legs, particularly its hind legs, where infections and swelling were detected. The examination further found muscle injury caused by a lack of stability of the horse, horseshoes that were neglected for a long time and hooves that required long-term treatment.
The horse is expected to undergo a long rehabilitation process that involves large financial expenses for medical treatment and quality food that is expected to run into the thousands of shekels. People interested in helping this horse to recover are invited to donate any amount they can at the SPCA’s donation page or by calling *4553.
We can only regret that the authorities are not doing their jobs to the best of their ability and are ignoring the harsh fate of animals that are suffering. We can hope that as a result of this unfortunate incident, clarifications will be made and their employees will be updated as to the relevant procedures for handling incidents of animals in distress.