Three Points man faces charges of animal cruelty
by Ryn Gargulinski on Nov. 03, 2007, under Local, Special
Horacio Morales may not have meant to starve one of his cows to death, but that doesn’t make the death any less horrific, Arizona Department of Agriculture livestock officer Brad Cowan said.
It does, however, lessen the charges against Morales. The Pima County man is facing three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, Cowan said, rather than felony charges.
Cowan said one count was for the heifer that died, one was for another in “pretty bad shape” and the third for putting all his cattle in jeopardy.
“It would be a felony if it were done knowingly and intentionally,” he said. “I don’t think the guy realized they had gotten that bad. He’s just inexperienced. I don’t think he’s mean.”
Morales, who has two horses that are faring well on his property near Three Points, decided to add some roping cattle about a year ago, Cowan said.
He ended up with nine head of cattle, one of which slowly wasted away until it dropped dead of malnutrition. The others were nearing the same fate.
Morales’ initial Pima County Justice Court date is Nov. 30. If he pleads not guilty, the case goes to trial. Efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.
“The bottom line is, an animal did die and that’s inexcusable in my book,” Cowan said.
The livestock officer was alerted to the malnourished cattle in August by concerned neighbors near Morales’ multiacre expanse near Sierrita Mountain Road and Sierrita Vista Drive.
In a visit to the property, Cowan found that though hay was sufficient, the cattle did not have adequate water.
“The cattle were thin but not weak,” he said. “They were not in a life-threatening situation.”
Cowan told Morales to give the animals more water and feed them more often, and then went on his way.
On Aug. 30, Cowan began medical leave for shoulder surgery.
Emergencies were passed along to two other Arizona Department of Agriculture staff members, as were site visits.
Cowan heard nothing more about Morales’ cattle until Oct. 14, when a neighbor called to report a cow had died.
Believing the earlier visit addressed the issues, Cowan was dismayed by what he found on his second trip to Morales’ property.
“The cattle were thin,” he said. “They were undernourished. You could see their skeletal features. Their color wasn’t good.”
An autopsy Morales paid for revealed the cow died of malnourishment.
“He wanted to know what was killing his cattle,” Cowan said of why Morales insisted on an autopsy.
“I don’t think the guy realized the cattle had gotten that bad,” Cowan said. “If you’re seeing them every day, you don’t notice the small differences. They will creep up on you.”
Cowan said the Department of Agriculture rarely encounters starving cattle.
“People have money invested in them,” he said of an animal that can cost upward of $400. “You can’t starve a profit into them.”
Though Morales was allowed to keep his cattle, the Department of Agriculture will visit weekly to monitor the animals’ health.
“If we take them away, then the state’s feeding them,” Cowan said. “I’m a big fan of making the owner responsible.
“It’s an unfortunate incident that happened and my first goal is to save the animals.”
