Horse lovers town dealing with manure

NORCO, Calif., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A Southern California town known for its friendliness to animals has angered local residents by suggesting compulsory manure pickup.

Fourteen people showed up at a city council meeting in Norco to question the plan, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.

Former City Councilman Harvey Sullivan suggested the rule change wait until a proposed plant to convert manure to energy has been built.

"I think we're getting the cart ahead of the horse here," Sullivan told his former colleagues. "The city's asking for mandatory manure pickup without a place to put it."

Norco has horse trails instead of sidewalks. Some horse owners reportedly prefer to recycle the manure as fertilizer, thus avoiding fees for pickup.

The proposed rule change would set down regulations for manure storage and require animal owners to have the manure collected regularly or to obtain permits for either using it as fertilizer or doing their own disposal.