Harley the Horse, Ordered out by Ashfield Council, Australia

Harley: Birth of a Champion is Harley the horse's debut in the publishing world. Based on the true story of Lee Ann Rust, Women's Professional Rodeo Association's (WRPA) 2011 Rookie Of The Year, the book follows the first years in the life of an international champion rodeo horse, told straight from the horse's mouth.  Triplicane and its cattle – reams have been written – the local Councillor initiated good measure, finding a place below MRTS – many have moved – still you find small herds on the roads.  Recently, at few smaller lanes leading to the Beach road, ramblers were put up – to prevent the stray cattle venturing on the beach road.  The road is yet to be reopened for the public; but the other day, was surprised to see a buffalo casually stroll over. The subject matter of this post – Harley, has no great looks nor has any phenomenal traits – it is a small horse that has lived in Summer hill for 15 years – his owner had the habit of walking him around the local suburbs – perhaps not any longer as the Ashfield Council has told it is time to go by ! Harley, the horse has lived in a Summer Hill backyard for almost 15 years but now his time is up. Ashfield Council informed his owner he has 21 days to respond to an order “to cease keeping the horse on the property”. Over the last decade, neighbours have complained about numerous issues, including flies, smells and waste removal. But the horse’s owner, Eric Findlay, has always managed to have things looking spic and span for council inspections, and Harley has stayed put. Harley is a familiar sight in the neighbourhood as Mr Findlay walks the horse around the streets of Summer Hill. The horse has been seen being led out of the front door for his daily exercise. But a series of recent complaints forced the council officers to take a stronger approach. Last Monday they informed Mr Findlay that it was time for Harley to go.“Council officers have inspected the property on many occasions over the years and in February we received complaints regarding the general condition of the yard within which the pony was being kept and the nuisance arising from odours and flies emanating from this area,” a council spokeswoman said. “At that time, the owner agreed to improve efforts to keep the yard area in a clean and tidy condition in accordance with the terms set out by the council in its decision in December 2003.  The recent inspections revealed that the yard area, once again, is not being maintained to a satisfactory standard as required by terms set by Council. The council spokeswoman said that the officers had reported waste from the pony, including urine and droppings, in the yard and “unpleasant smells emanating from and flies being attracted to the area as a result of this exposed waste.” She said “this is not an acceptable situation for neighbours to tolerate or conducive to the general health and well being of the community”. “With the coming warmer months, if this situation were to continue the adverse amenity impacts are likely to worsen,” she said.“As ongoing maintenance is not being carried out to a satisfactory standard to keep the yard in a clean and tidy manner, free of odours, the Council is now of the view that the most appropriate response is for the pony to be relocated to a more suitable area, which is not in a densely populated residential context and can potentially offer more space within which the pony could exercise and move about.“The Council recognises that this would be a significant change to the current circumstances and is prepared to assist in this relocation process.” Mr Findlay has been issued with an order  and the terms of the Notice require a response within 21 days, before November 16.Mr Findlay did not want to talk to the Inner West Courier when he was approached while walking Harley on Moonbie St.A spokeswoman from Ashfield Council said that she thought the owner would fight the Notice. Anyone who lives in the Dulwich Hill area would know about the horse, because the owner walks it in that direction every day. The NSW Department of Agriculture website has guidelines for caring for horses in urban areas. The guidelines suggest minimum standards for the housing of horses including that ideally they should be kept in a paddock of 1 hectare (a minimum 0.4 hectare).  The earlier guidelines of the Council included : removal of manure; cleaning of wood chips and the like.  Harley’s owner was advised to place manure only in their own rubbish bin and remove any spilt or deposited horse manure outside the property immediately. The rules further wanted a barrier be installed to keep the pony away from the common side boundary fence and no other pony or horse be kept on premises at any time So it looks curtains for Harley at present - ! With regards – S. Sampathkumar 3^rd Nov. 2015
Story source : www.dailytelegraph.com.au