Horses’ demise called ‘very sad’ accident
Two horses were hit by a truck and killed on the Tahkini Hot Springs Road Tuesday morning, Whitehorse RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers confirmed today.
Two horses were hit by a truck and killed on the Tahkini Hot Springs Road Tuesday morning, Whitehorse RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers confirmed today.
Rogers said the report of the collision involving the animals and a 2010 Ford 150 pickup truck came in at 6:48.
Nobody in the truck was injured, though damage to the vehicle is described as severe, he said.
Police are not conducting any further investigation because matters of this sort involving livestock fall to the Yukon government, Rogers said.
Kevin Bowers of the Yukon’s agricultural branch said the matter was reported to his office initially by staff with the highways branch.
But no action was taken, as the owner of the horses had indicated she would make arrangements to remove the animals’ carcasses from the roadside, he said.
Bowers, who manages the livestock control and impoundment program, said it’s unfortunate, but horse do sometimes escape their enclosures.
When it happens, he said, fines are not automatic. Rather, the livestock control officer works with the owner of the animals to correct the situation.
Bowers said the officer was notified last Saturday night of two horses on the Hot Springs Road.
Before any action was taken, he was again notified, and told the horses had been returned to their coral.
In the case of Tuesday’s incident, the livestock officer will not be taking any further action, and any matters outstanding will be between the owner of the truck and the owner of the horses, he said.
Area resident Faye Cable said she was on her way into Whitehorse on Tuesday morning and noticed a large dark spot on the side of the road that she first mistook as a large clump of dirty snow that had been plowed up but then noticed it was the carcass of a horse.
When she returned at noon, the ravens were on the carcass she had seen during the morning.
“And oh, my God, when we looked on the right hand side of the road, there was the other one,” Cable recalled in an interview Tuesday.
She said she expected the animals’ carcasses would have been removed by the time she returned.
“It was very sad,” she said.
The collision occurred about a kilometre up from the intersection with the North Klondike Highway, she added.
Sarah Hodgson
Jan 16, 2013 at 5:50 pm
I think it is very tacky and uncalled for to have a picture of the blood trail posted. You mention in the article that a woman was upset about how long it took for the bodies to be removed, yet you post a picture of the blood in the snow.
Had this been a human blood trail the picture would not be there. So why do it for someones animals? These horses were part of a family. They had loving owners, they were loved by small children. And now they have to hear about how a picture of this tragic accident was posted in the newspaper and online? Very tacky and pitifully disgusting on the Whitehorse Star end.