A Fort Worth judge has found the owner of a property claiming an “agricultural exemption” to be liable for animal cruelty.
On Friday, authorities testified regarding the status of seven horses and a donkey that had been taken from the property. According to an animal control officer, the animals had cuts and wounds, no access to fresh water, and nothing prevented them from accessing construction materials that had been left on the property.
The 70-acre lot, located on Randol Mill Rd., is valued at roughly $1.3 million and belongs to Dallas-based Dorex, Inc., reported CBS News Texas. The agricultural status of the property allows for property taxes to be based on the production value rather than the market value of the land — saving the owners a considerable amount of money. A CBS investigation showed that the owner initially applied for the exemption in 2017 and has paid less than $200 per year in property taxes.
The initial application claimed that horses, chickens, and goats would be on the property. Instead, the property has been used to store “mountains of tires, roofing shingles, construction materials, drywall just dumping everywhere,” said an animal rescue volunteer, per CBS.
“There’s enough tires and shingles back there to light this whole place on fire,” said neighbor Ramsey Shoufi, reported CBS.
The animal rescue volunteer became involved when someone reported two abandoned donkeys on the property. CBS began investigating in February and by May, men were seen mowing the property and dropping off horses. The men refused to answer any questions.
A veterinarian testifying on Friday on behalf of the family claimed that the animals’ injuries were minor, per CBS. He could not say what had caused the injuries.
The judge found Dorex “did cruelly treat the animals by unreasonably depriving the animals of necessary care or shelter.” He further ruled that Dorex should lose ownership of the animals and pay Fort Worth a sum of more than $12,000, per CBS.
The Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) requires a property to have been used for farming or ranching for five of the last seven years to qualify for the agricultural exemption. Following CBS’s May report, TAD revoked the agricultural exemption, meaning property taxes on the lot could be as much as $28,000 per year.
Dorex is appealing the revocation of the exemption. The company has 10 days to appeal the municipal court’s decision.