GOSHEN – In the wake of a horse farm fire in early June in which 26 race horses died at the Mount Hope Training Center in Otisville, Orange County will consider creating a County Animal Rescue Team (CART).
The effort is being explored by the county Division of Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s Office, which were contacted by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
There are 26 counties in New York that currently have those volunteer groups, said Orange County Emergency Services Commissioner Brendan Casey.
“There is a plan for them,” Casey said. “They fit into the incident command system. If someone is acting in a volunteer capacity and they are activated as part of the CART, they are covered by the state under Workers’ Comp, so it gives them some protection if they are out there acting on our behalf.”
The county will hold a meeting at the Emergency Services Center in Goshen at 6 p.m. on September 12 to seek input and interest in creating a County Animal Rescue Team.