FARMINGTON, Utah, Sept. 16, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Humane Society of Utah is speaking out after a Farmington homeowner shared surveillance video of two horses tethered behind a trailer pulled by a pickup truck, with one horse struggling to stay on its feet and being dragged along the roadway.
“The Humane Society of Utah (HSU) strongly condemns the incident in Farmington this weekend, where a pickup truck driver recklessly dragged two tethered horses along a residential road,” says a HSU statement released Saturday.
The video shows a white horse dragging its back hooves against the paved roadway before the driver stops the vehicle.
“Eyewitness accounts from concerned neighbors detail the ordeal in which one of the horses tragically collapsed due to its inability to keep pace with the truck,” the HSU statement says.
“The Utah animal cruelty laws specifically apply to horses when they are treated in a manner not acceptable in animal husbandry. The dragging of horses behind a truck is unacceptable and subjects the truck’s driver to penalties under the criminal code.”
Farmington police have reportedly declined to press charges in the case.
“HSU calls upon the Davis County investigators to take action in this matter,” the HSU statement says. “We implore them to initiate legal proceedings against the driver, seeking charges for animal cruelty and traffic violations.
“The driver’s actions endangered the lives and well-being of these horses and posed a grave risk to public safety, with the potential for serious traffic wrecks or collisions in the area.”
