Gamerco residents cry fowl
Animal owners told livestock must go

Hector Escarcega feeds one of his roosters that he uses for fighting. Escarcega, of Gamerco, may be affected by an attempt by the County Animal Control Department to rid the area of certain animals being raised in unsafe conditions. While Escarcega says he maintains his animals in a safe and clean environment, there have been reports of others who raise horses, cows and pigs in small pens. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

A rooster peers out from its cage in Gamerco on Monday afternoon. Residents of the town were recently sent letters by the County Animal Control Department in response to complaints from citizens of animals being kept in unsafe conditions. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

GALLUP — The hens and the roosters in Gamerco will have to go, as will the horses and many of the dogs and cats.

That's the word from the county's animal control department, which is just beginning a campaign to remove many of the animals that populate the small community.

Officials for the department are in the process of sending letters to Gamerco residents explaining that they will have to start abiding by the community's covenant, which allows no animals.

Cozy Balok, who heads the department under a contract from the county, said her department was asked to get involved at the request of officials for the Gamerco Water and Sanitation Department, who said that they have been receiving a number of complaints from residents about the noise created by roosters and disturbances caused by horses and other animals that get out of their pens and wander through the streets, creating traffic hazards.

The attempt to remove animals from Gamerco has riled a number of the residents, such as Carlos Lujan who has lived for the past several years on the outskirts of Gamerco where he raises chickens for eggs and food.

"I maintain the animals well," he said. "They are not abused. I should be allowed to keep them."

Lujan said he hasn't received any complaints from his neighbors. In fact, when he has a surplus of eggs, he has a habit of sharing them with his neighbors.

But he said he realizes there are people who will complain about these things and he said he realizes that some of the animals such as the horses that get out in the morning and cause a hazard to drivers should be controlled.

Others, who asked not to have their names in the paper, have gone further and said they feel they have the right to maintain animals because it's out in the county and part of "open range."

Apparently, it's not.

County Manager Tom Trujillo said the county is not involved with this; it's a matter between the Gamerco Water and Santitation District and people who live in the subdivision.

The district also contends that there is a covenant within the subdivision's rules and regulations that limits the number of animals that people can have and many residents have been violating those rules for years with no one taking any steps to enforce the laws.

In some cases, like residents who have 10 or 12 cats, there are county laws that are being broken. And Balok said the county also has laws that require a certain amount of land in order to own animals like horses.

There are some cases, she said, where people are raising horses and other large-sized animals on plots of land that are no bigger than a small back yard, which is in violation of county ordinances. She said her department has also received reports that some families are raising chickens and roosters in their basements, which also is a violation of county laws and is considered animal abuse.

The plans now are to send out letters to Gamerco residients and advise them that animal control ordinances will be enforced. Then, after the resdients have sufficient time to remove the animals, Balok said her department will take the next step.

"We will not go out and remove the animals ourselves," she said. "Instead we will issue citations and let the courts handle the matter."

But Lujan and others who talked to the paper say they don't plan to get rid of their animals without a fight.