Bradford Council has defended plans to spend an extra £75,000 in 2013-14 cracking down on irresponsible horse owners.

John Major, the authority’s assistant director for environmental and regulatory services, said the Council needed to take a “firm stance” on the animals being tethered on public land or being allowed to roam dangerously. He was responding to a query from Councillor Zameer Hussain Shah at the Environment and Waste Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee at City Hall last night.

A report on stray and tethered horses showed that between April, 2012, and April, 2013, 51 horses were impounded by the Council’s contractor Rossendales at a cost of £70,000 to the authority.

Coun Shah (Bowling and Barkerend, Con) said that worked out at £1,372 per horse and queried what incentive there was for owners to pay that to get their animal back when, he claimed, they could buy a horse for between “£250 and £300”.

He added: “Why would people pay £1,372 to Bradford Council instead?”

Mr Major admitted that “very few” people reclaim their horses, but added: “Bradford Council needs to take a firm stance and has to pay what it takes to achieve this.

“Not a lot of people come forward, but we believe this is something we have to take a lead on. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour and that is why we have put an extra £75,000 in the budget. We want to be as proactive as possible.”

When asked why it cost so much to impound a horse, Mr Major said manpower, vehicles, the 14-day period for an owner to reclaim the animal and the price of a vet check meant it was “not a cheap business”.

The meeting heard that at the end of the 14-day period, the horses were re-homed or sold. The horses are destroyed as a last resort, said Mr Major, who added that the animals would not end up in food. Mr Major also stressed the safety implications for people in the areas where horses are tethered and the responsibility the Council had to those people.

He said the majority of horse owners were responsible owners.

The committee agreed that the Council’s current multi-agency, including police and Incommunities, approach to the issue should be supported.