Two men fined for death of 27 horses
US State agriculture officials have fined two men who violated state pesticide laws last summer at an equestrian facility where 27 horses died.
Necropsies suggested the horses ate toxic feed in July at Carousel Acres Equestrian Center and
Stable in College Station. Brad Raphel, co-owner of the stable, was fined $4,000
related to five violations in applying a restricted-use pesticide in July, the
Texas Department of Agriculture said. Each violation brings a $1,000 fine but
the cap for a single incident is $4,000.
Walter Cronin, who said he was a friend of Raphel’s, was fined
$1,000 for failing to properly supervise the use of a restricted-use pesticide.
He also received a warning for failing to maintain records for the first time
the pesticide was applied.
Misuse of
pesticide
According to the report, stable owner Brad Raphel did not have
a state-required license to purchase or use the pesticide but applied PhosFume
tablets to a silo of horse feed in July. Within hours of
the application, horses began dying. Tests performed on the horses found that they
had died from ingesting phosphine
gas, a product of a fumigant that is released from the pesticide tablets,
which are designed to kill weevils in horse feed.
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