NEWS

Texas group to save Fort Polk horses

Hundreds of horses being relocated from post by Humane Society of North Texas

Jeff Matthews
jmatthews@thetowntalk.com, (318) 487-6380
Horses graze near a soldier on security detail at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk. A Texas animal welfare group has agreed to partner with the Army to remove the horses and find them homes.

A Texas animal welfare group has stepped forward to take in hundreds of horses that roam Fort Polk in hopes of saving their lives.

The Humane Society of North Texas is relocating nearly 400 horses from the Vernon Parish Army post to its location in Decatur, Texas. The Army announced in August it would remove the horses from training areas on and around Fort Polk, saying they presented a safety risk.

The Army set up a process for anyone willing to adopt horses, with preference given to animal welfare groups. But many advocates for the horses worried that "kill buyers" would pose as adopters, then sell the horses to be slaughtered for meat.

The Humane Society of North Texas has relocated about 50 horses and will take more groups of 30-50 over the next two years. The group has an adoption event Saturday where interested people can view the first group of horses.

The relocation effort is expected to cost about $50,000. To make a donation towards the effort, visit www.hsnt.org.

“This is a true honor to be a part of such a historic rescue as we work hard to make sure these magnificent creatures receive the care and respect they deserve.” said Sandy Shelby, executive director of the Humane Society of North Texas.