Baltimore Officials Seize Horses From Traditional Vendors
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An Arabber stable was raided. More than a dozen horses and some barn animals were confiscated. The City Health Department cited poor living conditions.
Christie Ileto spoke to one of the horse owners.
One of the owners argues his horses were healthy and their home clean---but the city's investigation reveals something else.
The orange notice leaves little explanation, only saying the South Carlton Street stable isn't zoned for that use.
"These stables have been like this since I was a little boy," said Malik Muhammad.
Muhammad has been an Arabber for decades. He owns two of the 14 hourses once held in the stable the City Health Department labeled as "poor living conditions...with concern for the animals, due to extremely cold temperatures."
The horses are now in the immediate care of Days End Farm.
"There's nothing wrong with the stalls. They had bedding," Muhammad said. "They have hay."
Muhammad had pictures to prove it.
The city's Arabbers are a Baltimore tradition and there's long been a concern in general over how the horses were treated. This isn't the first time they've been removed from a city stable. In 2009, horses were found in frightening conditions in city-owned tents in southwest Baltimore.
"It's when they don't have access to proper shelter in the form of something that protects them from wind and wet," said Tammy Zaluzney, CAPA For Maryland. "That can be very depleting for them."
Stalls are now empty as Animal Control investigates.
Days End Farm says over the next several weeks, the horses will need veterinary and farrier care.
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