The seven horses that once served in the Honolulu Police Department's now-disbanded mounted patrol unit will not be auctioned off, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said yesterday.

Several options are being considered, including having another government entity experienced in the care of animals take care of the horses, or giving them to a private caretaker with pasture land.

The horses have been cared for in Waimanalo since the mounted patrol unit was disbanded last year.

"The time is growing near, however, for the horses, to be transferred from HPD's hands, and we've been meeting with the department on the best possible solution," Hannemann said. "There's no auction of the horses planned, nor has HPD ever requested an auction."

The horse patrol was disbanded because of rising costs, and now the cost of caring for the seven horses and maintaining their equipment is becoming onerous, police have said. All-terrain vehicles now perform the duties the horses once did in O'ahu's parks and beaches.

The mayor has previously said that the City Charter requires that government property be sold through public auction. However, the horses require special treatment.

"While it would have been great to transfer the ownership of the horses to private caretakers, it would also have been illegal," Hannemann said.

Anyone interested in the horses should call the Personal Property Management and Disposal Section of the city Department of Budget and Fiscal Services at 768-3954.

"We will use every effort to keep the horses together," Hannemann said in a statement. "We will not simply sell the horses one by one, at a public auction ... without any assurances that they will be humanely treated with the respect and the care they deserve."