A POLICE horse that was killed in the line of duty last weekend has been laid to rest at a landfill site, with police saying it was too expensive to cremate him.
WA Police Union president Russell Armstrong has slammed the decision to bury Hercules, a Clydesdale horse that served with the Police Mounted Squad for six years, at a landfill site.

Mr Armstrong said the union offered to pay for the cremation but was told yesterday that it was "too late and couldn't be done".

"We made an offer to the mounted section yesterday to pay for the cremation and we were told what was happening," he told PerthNow today.

"We were told they couldn't afford the $2000 for the cremation and the best way to dispose of the body was to go to landfill.

"We're pretty disgusted... this shows a lack of commitment to the police budget when our officers, especially at the mounted section, are worried about the cost of the cremation of $2000 and say they can't afford it.

Mr Armstrong said the union had been inundated with calls from concerned officers, who believed Hercules deserved much better.

"We've had a lot of calls today and our members are really upset that the police department didn't pay for the cremation," he said.

"Even though Hercules is a horse, the animal was out there with our officers day and night doing a job for the community and they're aboslutely disgusted that a fine animal like this has received no recongition and has gone to landfill."

Hercules died after being electrocuted at the Kalamunda Show last Friday.

Police said last night they could not bury the horse at the Mayland stables where he was previously housed for public health reasons.

They said it was too expensive to cremate him, with some estimates suggesting it would cost around $2000 to cremate the one-tonne animal.

Hercules was buried at a landfill site near Armadale.

Maylands MP Lisa Baker said it was disrespectful and Hercules deserved a better end after dedicating himself to serving the public.

The policeman who rode Hercules will lead the ANZAC Day march carrying his bridle.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/landfill-burial-for-police-horse/story-e6frg13u-1226043086862

You can read what happend here:
Police horse dies, two officers injured after electric shock



http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/police-horse-dies-two-officers-injured-after-electric-shock-20110416-1dif3.html

He should have gone to the meat pie factory like all the other horses  :)

If it's okay for a horse it's okay for me. I shall leave instructions for my body to be put into a wheelie bin on collection day and the money saved go to some good purpose, like beer.  ;D

Grey wrote on Apr 24^th, 2011 at 1:13pm:

If it's okay for a horse it's okay for me. I shall leave instructions for my body to be put into a wheelie bin on collection day and the money saved go to some good purpose, like beer.  ;D

That's an outrageous suggestion.  Beer is not a good purpose and is a waste of money.  >:(    
 I'll 'ave a Scotch! :D

This horse, was it dead?  Did it weigh a tonne?  Would it have been pretty 'off' in a couple of days while people collected funds for a big send off?  Did the horse give a bugger about what was happening?
Geez I'd have thrown in to give it a happy retirement but it wasn't about that....it was dead.  The method of disposal doesn't matter, it's the memory and respect of the people who 'knew' it that matters.
Award it a posthumous medal and get on with looking after the live ones.
What do you do with your dead Goldfish, call White Lady funerals for 'em or something?

how sad is that.. a beautiful Clydesdale..magnificent beast..

they should have called for public donations..any animal that serves his country deserves better than that.


shame on the WA police

A horse just does what a horse does, it has no idea it has a country let alone that it is serving its country.

Surely they could have done something else than the landfill solution?

How about a big funeral pyre?

Make a day of it. Invite the public. Have a horsey/cop theme, face painting and a jumping castle for the kids.... horsey rides too.
A sausage sizzle, burgers, a beer tent, a couple of kebab vans and then once it gets dark have a few cops and a local MP get up and give speeches praising the poor dead neddy then have a bit of a count down and then light the horsey up, A few fireworks wouldn't go astray.

A hip hip hooray for the horsey and everybody is happy. Horsey is both honoured and disposed of, a charity or two get some $$$ and the public get a fun day out.

Well..most horses end up being minced up with old dairycows and mixed into meat pies or Maccas Happy Meals so landfill really isnt that bad

adelcrow wrote on Apr 24^th, 2011 at 7:39pm:

Well..most horses end up being minced up with old dairycows and mixed into meat pies or Maccas Happy Meals so landfill really isnt that bad

the had a program on TV couple of nights ago regarding horse used in war time and of course the Lighthorse Brigade were on and they still use these horse of times gone by and have parades and things.. but the horse was more than a form of transport they went everywhere with their soldier.. and even layed down in the line of fire with their feet facing the enemy so the soldier could  use him as a shield and support for his gun. very few of these animals returned to Australia... by the way they were all chose from NSW stock.I have always found animals used by our services. defence or police to be pretty special..they only pick the best after all.

reading some of this I now know why I prefer animals to people for the most part

well said Cods.

oh my god - we MUST NEVER TREAT A HORSE LIKE THAT

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/mauthausen/MauthausenPhotos/OldPhotos/MassGraveUSHMM.jpg

HOW CRUEL CAN HUMANS GET?

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/bergenbelsen/OldPhotos/MassGrave03.jpg

Life_goes_on wrote on Apr 24^th, 2011 at 5:41pm:

Surely they could have done something else than the landfill solution? How about a big funeral pyre? Make a day of it. Invite the public. Have a horsey/cop theme, face painting and a jumping castle for the kids.... horsey rides too. A sausage sizzle, burgers, a beer tent, a couple of kebab vans and then once it gets dark have a few cops and a local MP get up and give speeches praising the poor dead neddy then have a bit of a count down and then light the horsey up, A few fireworks wouldn't go astray. A hip hip hooray for the horsey and everybody is happy. Horsey is both honoured and disposed of, a charity or two get some $$$ and the public get a fun day out.

Good idea. They could have served some of this:
http://www.theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/carne/cavallo/horse_recipe_index.php