Rising horse population in Va. Beach sparks burial concerns

VIRGINIA BEACH

The old mare Molly taught Sheila Baumgardner's grandkids to ride. The horse is at least 30 years old, roughly equivalent to a 70-year-old human. Sometime soon her time will come. Then what?

As the population of horses swells in rural southern Virginia Beach, owners and city officials are wrestling with how to properly dispose of them when they die. The cheapest, easiest and most popular option is now a backhoe burial in the pasture. But with the area's low water table and most homes dependent on wells, water pollution is becoming a worry.

"It's really becoming an issue of what you should do with your horse when it dies," said Jan Miller, president of the Tidewater Horse Council.

A 2007 federal ban on horse meat for human consumption eliminated slaughterhouses as an option. The closest private pet crematorium charges $1 per pound, plus a pickup fee, putting the cost at around $1,300 for a 1,000-pound horse. Rendering plants, which break down the bodies for use in a variety of products, are far away - there's one in Emporia - and are unpopular with some equestrians.

For years, Virginia Beach offered subsidized cremation of horses at its animal control facility for $75. The city's large-animal incinerator wore out in 2001 and was not replaced because of cost.

There are 2,600 horses in Virginia Beach, according to the 2006 Virginia Equine Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but experts have said there may be nearly twice that many. The popularity of farmettes, small rural plots with just enough land for a horse, contributed to the increase. City officials estimate 12 to 28 horses die a year, but again experts said that number is probably low.

"It's a dilemma about what's the right thing to do," Deputy City Manager Dave Hansen said. "It's really difficult to consider new government programs. It's our preference in today's environment to encourage private business to fill the needs of our citizens."

A new large animal incinerator would cost $135,300, a city report found. Based on mortality estimates, it would cost horse owners $1,240 per cremation. City officials have recommended against building it.

City Councilwoman Barbara Henley, who represents the rural Princess Anne District, said she's looking into federal grants linked to water quality that might be available to build a new incinerator. She also suggested a possible joint effort with Chesapeake, home to 3,200 horses, according to the survey.

That city's public works department will transport a dead horse for disposal for $250, said Blair Barbieri, a Chesapeake spokeswoman.

Loudon County, which has Virginia's largest population of horses - more than 15,000 - contracts with a private rendering company, according to the Beach report.

Beach resident Dana Goheen, president of the Southeastern Association of Trail Riders, said when her horse got fatally ill while boarded in Chesapeake, she struggled with what to do.

The boarder didn't want it buried on his property, and cremation was too expensive.

"I couldn't get any help as a citizen," she said. She ended up paying someone to bury it on private property in Franklin.

Baumgar dner, who lives in Pungo, isn't sure what she'll do when Molly dies. She said she understands the argument that horse owners should be responsible for disposing of their animals.

But she believes horses add value to the community by supporting local feed and tack businesses that pay taxes.

She also thinks they enhance the city's quality of life.

"I know I'm prejudiced, but there is an ambience from horses that make the area more desirable than your run-of-the-mill town."

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com