THE problem of feral and potentially dangerous horses being tethered in public places is not going to go away in Bradford - partly because irresponsible owners refuse to change their ways - a senior councillor has warned.

Cllr Val Slater was speaking after new figures revealed Bradford Council has spent more than £310,000 seizing stray horses across the district in the last four years.

A total of of 213 horses have been impounded since April 2011, but only three have been reclaimed by the owners - meaning the cost of picking up and looking after the other 210 has fallen to the Council.

Councillor Slater said the local authority was in a frustrating 'Catch-22' situation - if it did not pick up the tab for removing horses and they injured someone on Council land, it could be sued.

"It's a difficult position because the number of stray horses isn't going down which creates a problem for residents," she said.

"These horses are often dangerous. We've had occasions where children have been injured such as a couple of years ago when a five-year-old was attacked."

Harlie Thompson needed a three-hour operation after he was kicked in the head by an illegally-tethered horse at Buttershaw Beck in 2012.

COMMENT: HORSE OWNERS MUST NOT SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY

"Inexperienced owners are choosing to tether their horses in inappropriate places such as parks and play areas and are putting residents to inconvenience and danger," Cllr Slater said, adding that often the horses were in bad condition.

"A lot of the owners are irresponsible and I'm not sure that something such as education or awareness would have an particular impact. Certain types of owners will feel it's their right to keep horses and tether them up anywhere they can find.

"I think this will be an on-going issue."

Seized horses are put into livery, but where they are taken is kept secret for safety reasons.

"People that are responsible for these horses sometimes aren't very nice people. We have to work closely with the police when rounding up these horses," Cllr Slater said.

"Particular contractors have been attacked. We had an incident in Buttershaw where a contractor was trying to round up a horse and somebody came out with a shotgun."

But the cost to the cash-strapped Council has also been criticised.

The chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, Jonathan Isaby, said: "This is an enormous bill, especially when councils are working on tighter budgets. Stray horses shouldn't be abandoned but it's such a shame that owners aren't showing more responsibility, as it's taxpayers who lose out.

"Necessary spending cuts mean that councils should be re-thinking spending priorities and taxpayers' money would no doubt be more helpfully spent elsewhere."

Councillor Debbie Davies (Con, Baildon), who supports the World Horse Welfare charity and has previously raised the issue with the authority, said it was a "huge amount of money ".

"The Council shouldn't have to spend money on these things. There's lots of other things that it needs spending on.

"It's more the responsibility of the people that own them. I'm all for prosecuting the owners. Horses are supposed to have passports, but these maybe don't. If the owners can't be traced, then that's a problem."

She said the Control of Horses Bill, which is progressing through The House of Lords, would hopefully mean the Council had more powers to deal with the problem.

"At the moment the Council has to keep the horses in livery for 14 days, but this Bill speeds everything up and it will certainly cut the costs," Cllr Davies said.

In January of last year, the Council revealed that it had impounded 146 horses since April 2011. Its latest figures - just released under a Freedom of Information request - show a further 67 horses have been rounded-up of which none have been claimed.

In 2013/14 it spent £96,996 impounding horses and covering 14 day livery costs. In 2014/15 - up until January 7 - it spent £65,246.

Cllr Slater said some of the £310,000 spent since 2011, would have been claimed back from social housing landlord Incommunities which the Council worked closely with.

The authority does have a budget for seizing horses, which councillors on the worst affected areas said had dramatically helped reduce the problem, but that is being reviewed as part of ongoing budget consultations.

Councillor Alan Wainwright (Lab, Tong), who lives in Holme Wood - an area historically blighted with stray horses, said by working with Incommunities and police, the Council had helped dramatically improve the situation but there was still work to be done.

"If you go to a shop and buy a budgie, you buy a cage for it. If you want a horse, you should have land to keep it on and use of a stable," he said.

A Council spokesman said its contractor determined what happened to unclaimed horses, which included rehoming or sale at a reputable livestock market. The animals are destroyed as a last resort.

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