Marlin considers including hoofed animals in a regulation after horse incident

MARLIN, Texas (KXXV) — “When are you going to stop playing childish games and take the safety and lives of people and animals seriously,” animal rights activist Dorothy Sanders said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Earlier this week I told you about an incident involving a horse and a pack of dogs in the town of Marlin.

People in the community were concerned after a photo of a seriously injured horse attracted widespread attention on Facebook.

It is believed that the horse was attacked by a pack of dogs that were wandering unsupervised through the community.

Following this incident, the city council discussed an ordinance on how to deal with hoofed animals in our community.

I attended the city council meeting on Tuesday to hear what city leaders had to say.

“This is intended to start a discussion about what should happen to ungulates and whether there need to be restrictions on the release of reptiles into our environment,” said Mayor Susan Byrd.

“I suggest we bring it back along with copies of the ordinance, because we don’t have copies here,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Debra McDavid.

The city decided to revise the ordinance because it did not have a copy of the current ordinance.

The Council also mentioned that ungulates were exempt from the Animal Regulation before 2022.

Some people expressed dissatisfaction with the city’s response and expressed their opinions through public comments.

“You continue to do nothing to address your city’s neglected animal control issues, even as citizens are trapped in their homes by aggressive dogs or mauled livestock,” Sanders said.

It was later reported that the horse was returned to its owner by the Marlin Police Department and the dog owners were charged with running loose dogs.

I spoke to Marlin Police who confirmed that the horse is now dead and the incident is now under investigation.