SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Three horses, including a therapy horse, were stolen and slaughtered in Southwest Miami-Dade, police said.
Miami-Dade Police officers responded to the scene of Southwest 124th Street and 197th Avenue after reports of three horse carcasses, Friday morning.
Officers arrived to find the carcasses, two female and a male, in a field.
One of the animals was identified by the owner as a 16-year-old female therapy horse named Paloma. She was one of the horses that, police said, were taken from their home and slaughtered.
“To be honest, there are no words to express what you can feel,” said David Yepez, Paloma’s owner.
Video footage from 7Skyforce showed the scene from above as investigators canvassed the area for clues while the remains of the horses were left scattered on the pasture.
Investigators found the remains of the horses close to the farm where the animals lived.
Yepez said his horse touched the lives of many families through her therapy work.
“A horse that gave so much to kids, to parents that helped out, to find such a cruel ending, it’s something that’s not, you know, you wouldn’t expect it,” said Yepez.
The killing of the animals was likely for the illegal sale of horse meat.
“By someone who just didn’t care, and in an inhumane way, and all they cared about was their pockets,” said MDPD Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.
This incident marks the second horse slaughter 7News has reported on this year. On Jan. 3, two horses were killed in Southwest Miami-Dade after their owner reported them stolen.
“I’ve been out here for 25 years, never thought it could happen to me,” she said. “I thought I was safe. I had the lights, the cameras, the dogs. I moved out here to keep my horses safe, and it happened to me.”
Police suspected that the animals were killed for their meat, which can be sold anywhere for $10 to $20 a pound. Authorities are still investigating that case.
It is unclear when the horses in this most recent case were stolen, but it was presumably overnight. An investigation is now underway.
“For someone to just be able to take these horses, slaughter them — God knows how they did it and how much pain they had to endure — only because they are just worried about making money and having some type of monetary gain,” said Zabaleta.
Police said eating horse meat is not healthy for humans because of the medicine given to horses.
If you have any information on these killings, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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