Questions Raised Over How Harris County Precinct 4 Disposes of Dead Animals
Tipsters told FOX 26 that Precinct 4 employees dump dead animals along roadways, and video shows bags of dead animals in an open hole on precinct property. The commissioner's office says its crews bury animals collected from county roads on county land, in full compliance with state law.
HOUSTON - Harris County Precinct 4 is facing questions about what happens to the dead animals its crews collect. Tipsters told FOX 26 that precinct employees dump dead dogs and other animals along roadways, and video recorded by a county employee who does not work for Precinct 4 shows 55-gallon trash bags of dead animals in an open hole on Precinct 4 property near Clay Road and Highway 6, with buzzards drawn to the site - described in the report as massive graves of dogs or road-kill animals collected by the county.
A woman who lives in an apartment complex nearby, and who was not named, told the station that a stench from the property reaches her home and that she has watched dumping from her balcony. The station carried her account as a resident's allegation; Precinct 4 has not confirmed the roadway-dumping claims.
Commissioner Lesley Briones's office answered with the county's stated practice. Crews pick up deceased animals found on county roads and rights-of-way and bury them on county maintenance property, the office said, "consistent with public health best practices and in full compliance with Texas Health and Safety Code Section 361.117." The office said public safety is the commissioner's top priority and directed anyone with concerns to call 832-927-4444.
What remains unanswered is the gap between the two accounts: whether every animal the precinct collects ends up buried on county property, as the commissioner's office describes, or whether some are left along roadways, as tipsters allege. That is a records question, and this station will follow it.
