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Another horse slaughtered in Florida.

2K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  rambo99 
#1 · (Edited)
Just saw this posted another horse taken from his property. Fences cut lead down road tied to a tree, then slaughtered. Happened in Naples Florida just last night.

Thought I'd share knowing there are quite a few Florida horse owners on here. Here's map showing where it happened.
 

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#3 ·
Naples is a town along the coast where the actual site of theft, death and butchering of the animal was a ways away in a more rural area.
Immokalee Rd & Rock Rd is the actual intersection and pasture from which the fence was cut, the animal was walked next door, tied to a tree and killed...
This took place in Collier County, Florida. Law enforcement is very involved and has actually posted details and pictures already on the web.
This area is more southern Florida and is bordered by Brevard, Hendry and Miami-Dade counties where this killing and harvesting of meat has been going on for more than 20 years off and on that I am aware of...this is not new, but it is also not right.
The owner of the deceased animal has offered a reward of $10,000...

There are very graphic pictures being shown with this story at this time in the media...if you not have a strong stomach, do not view them, do not scroll to that area of the story if you go further on your own to read.
I have seen them and will not post them they are so upsetting.
It is though what has happened in the past with the previous slaughtered animals...meat harvested.
Sad to report, but it has occurred again...and till the creeps are caught/found we will still face this as a daily threat to our animals.

Worse is the threat is known to have crossed state lines into neighboring states now as stealing, killing and harvesting has taken place in other locales too.....
All animal owners need to take notice, step-up and do what is right for your animals and not think because your animal is difficult to catch they are safe...they are not.
These people are not inexperienced by how fast they strike, take down and do their horrible deed...this takes minutes not hours.
As Floridians have found, discovered by horrors happening, prepare before not after the horror strikes.
Do not let your guard down as proof of once is not enough but continued stealing and death is happening far to often.
hlg.
 
#6 ·
No, actually they don't always cut a fence like you think...
They have driven right up to a barn, taken down gates and other things I'm not going to tell about here.
Caught on cameras...

The family obviously thought the horses safe where they were...
Same as everyone else...

The bottom line is the owner of the deceased horse wants answers and is enticing information/answers by putting enough money seen that it just might work...
Just like everyone else, it does no good once the crime is committed against an animal and honestly, you don't know if this family had cameras and safeguards in place that were rendered useless.
Not every detail was shared you can be sure...a ongoing Criminal Investigation and Crime Scene still exists.
If you read the update @ 5:33PM it is told and alluded to make certain safety measures are working.
Use cameras, fortify fences to keep out intruders, pay attention to your dogs and their attitudes and network with your neighbors to watch for each others animals.
The fact those details are being put in print makes me think there were safety measures in place but were disabled...


My heart just breaks for these people and their loss as it occurred.
Some images they saw will never be forgotten...
:runninghorse2:...
 
#7 ·
I'm sure it all depends on how much priority is placed on these killings, finding out who buys the meat, and how severe the punishment would be if/when they are caught. If I were the judge I would maximize the sentencing for everything they did. It has to be so severe it's not worth the risk.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ergh I can't even. What in the actual heck is wrong with people?

In the state of Montana, horse theft is still a hangable offense. Anyone who committed such an atrocity on one of my horses would never make it to trial if I got my hands on them. I can't imagine how those poor horses' owners must have felt coming out to feed the following morning, searching for and finding their dear ponies. My heart aches for their loss.

-- Kai
 
#9 ·
fuddy...

LEO is very involved, very motivated to catch and dispatch these killers gone.
Please don't make it seem no one cares or is doing anything because you are wrong, very wrong. This is a huge priority to catch them..
The communities are working closely together, watching each others animals, alerting to unfamiliar activities, helping with surveillance and better fencing...
Being a vigilante is not encouraged because of the innocent it could hurt who happened by...
The state of Florida is 65,755 square miles. 500 miles long and 160 miles wide...
That is one big area for law enforcement agencies to patrol, to cover and protect from "poachers/killers" besides also normal police work. Animals have been targeted, stolen and killed from coast to coast, end to end..
The horse industry is in the billions of dollars a year for this state..you bet with that number this is a priority.

We have special units of LEO for ag crimes, but it isn't like a thousand extra LEO have been added.
Yes, LEO are asking for assistance from the community and that assistance is pouring in...
Each lead, each piece of shared needs checked out...
When you have suspicious activity reported in more than 200+ locations a day..

As for punishment...they don't care.
The law is not playing games with punishment if caught. Severe it shall be.
LEO's know where the meat is going, who is consuming, how much is paid for it...
Money is a huge motivator in crime, and there is a tremendous amount of money in horse meat that people are willing to take that chance of getting caught.
It is not one person or 2 persons but many who are doing this...a ring.
Catching them in the act...well, they better hope it is LEO's!

But please, don't think this is not a priority, that citizens are not taking a stand and that laws are not waiting to be applied...
The slip-up is coming as the pressure is increased...within seconds they have been missed, but the clues are numerous and mounting leading law to their doorstep.

Sadly though, it isn't the first time and won't be the last that this occurs here as it does in other areas of this nation. Where certain nationality, religious beliefs and cultures congregate so do their... choices is a very distasteful word but fits. And with that follows the pull of money paid for illegal goods in this nation.
hlg...

(LEO is abbreviated for Law Enforcement Organization)
 
#10 · (Edited by Moderator)
I appreciate and understand the explanation. I wasn't criticizing at all.
We're all different from different backgrounds. As a carpenter I know says, everything to him looks like a nail. I spent my life as an electronic technician so everything to me has an electronic solution.
What I'm hearing by these posts is this activity is mostly happening in Florida. Where it happens to me isn't as important as HOW it happens. The horses are fenced. The perpetrators have to get to the horse, cut a fence, lock, gate, open a barn, then walk in, drive in...doesn't matter. Something has to be opened or cut to get in.
Now if this is continuing as it has been, to me it's like Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown. This time will be different.
No, people have to get to the horse.
So...try something different. Something unexpected.
That's why, to me, it's easy to have a simple system where if fence is cut, gate or barn opened, alarm goes off. It's not that difficult or expensive to do. Cameras are fantastic...but after the fact! I'd rather know instantaneously when entry is made...someone is notified. Now "alarm" is almost limitless, everything from sireen(s), lights to phone dialer, indoor buzzer, etc.
I'm not implying owners aren't compassionate, just the opposite. I'm suggesting trying a different approach.
Our new stable is not that far from the house. From our bedroom to stable doors about 300ft. When it was being built I ditched underground for water, electric, then lots of assorted cables. A hidden magnetic switch on the stable doors every time door opens a buzzer goes off in house.
Even areas without power there are ways to alarm protect, just like solar fence chargers.
The bottom line is someone needs to outsmart and catch these yahoos. No one should have to go through this.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
I mean, I get that other cultures enjoy eating horses. They are livestock after all. I don't agree with it, but I get it. But if you're catering to that clientele, why not have a dedicated horse slaughter yard? Why not buy el cheapo horses (there are literally tons of them out there) and kill those? I bet you could collect plenty of FREE horses if you looked hard enough, plenty of older horses or whoopsie young ones out there. I see free horse ads all the time, plenty of ponies whose riders have outgrown them, horses that have had an injury and are no longer rideable, etc. They're not all old. I'm sure these sorts of ads are all over the country, not just in Montana.

Again, I'm not saying I agree with it. But if your end goal is ONLY to supply the meat market, why target and steal horses that aren't in that pool? It only increases your risk of being caught and I could be wrong but I'm fairly certain that no one can tell you what to do with your own animals so wouldn't legally acquiring these meat horses be better? Unless these people are just psychos, which I'm not willing to rule out at this point.

-- Kai
 
#12 ·
I believe that it is not legal in most states to sell meat that has not been inspected. Even if they slaughter their own horses, they are still selling meat that has not been inspected. A lot of states have laws against the slaughter of horses. I do not know what Florida has. But it still seems like they would just buy cheap horses or get them free. It would keep some of the law off of them.
 
#13 ·
Horse slaughter is illegal in all 50 states in the USA...
I honestly don't know about the sale of horsemeat if it is shipped in from overseas and meets criteria to be sold here.

Slaughter houses that had only done horses have been closed for years, there is no oversight that animals are free of drugs and foods that can harm, kill humans now.
When cattle go to market not just any cow goes through the processing line anymore...they must be free of drugs of certain classifications for specified time and walk in, not be dragged in as use to happen.
Animals must meet certain criteria or are turned away is what is supposed to happen.
Horses bought at auction, shipped on livestock trucks and meet their demise elsewhere have no oversight about any of this...

I'm not going down the path of this further, but what is happening in Florida is stealing and killing of beloved animals and pets, not the raising of livestock for human consumption...a vast difference in raising stock to eat or killing my horse stolen from my yard or yours.
Horses are raised for human consumption in France, not sure where else but remember my mom traveling in Paris being sure to ask what the meat was she might order as she was not eating horse...:|
:runninghorse2:....
 
#14 ·
Commercial slaughter is illegal because inspectors for horse meat was defunded.

It's still legal to put a horse down and harvest the meat.

I wonder why people who want to eat horse meat don't buy. Other than they don't seem worried about details like med clearing times. Or stealing. And then there's carcass disposal that seems difficult in places.
 
#15 ·
Didn't post this earlier but, My cousin who lives in Lake Placid, Fl. called to tell me that a friend of his went out to dinner and came home . Went out to feed their horse that was in a stall. He found the remains of his horse, it had been skinned and butchered while tied in the stall. They took all they wanted and let behind the mess. He posted a $10,000 reward for info and arrest of whoever had done. I don't know the latest as I haven't spoke since. All I know is it was south of Lake Placid and north of Naples which leaves a pretty big area. Glad we don't have that problem in Kansas yet.
 
#19 ·
So sorry this happened. Praying the reward assists in catching the criminals responsible.

It sounds like the criminals were watching the property. I am concerned r/t the risk of increased aggression and violence; what happens if they stop waiting for owners to be away from the property? What happens if they begin to commit violence to the owners?

This can escalate...praying there is an end to all of this, soon. Once these criminals are caught, their names and faces need to be broadcast to every single person, especially every horse owner in the country.
 
#17 ·
Looking at the other thread about kill buyers, those very cheap horses aren’t exactly healthy so if these people are feeding their family and friends, they most probably don’t want to deal with sick animals.

Another thing that might be a possibility are people who keep fighting dogs or illegal large predators who either don’t want to attract attention by buying large numbers of horses or cannot afford it.

Whatever the case may be, it is absolutely heartbreaking. I can’t even imagine it happening to my horse, or any other horse.
 
#18 ·
Many years ago, we had a problem with people dumping dead animals into a creek that runs beside the road. The state had left a nice place to pull off to the side of the road there. The property behind it is ours. The creek runs thru our property to a city owned lake that is used for water. People no longer dump the pigs and deer, but there are still dogs and a lot of trash dumped here. The pigs was what was left after they butchered them. This is on the side of a major highway, let they never catch anyone. And the state will not take out the pull off.
 
#21 ·
Warning...this gets a bit graphic...

ksbowman...
This is in the same vicinity as the report that started this thread. Possibly the same animal but this thread the animal was found in a field butchered.

It has been reported by several owners them finding their horses tied and they obviously had spooked the killers in the act of what happened to your cousins horse. Those though that found their horses injured by neck ropes & tied to walls or trees found them still alive..
Seems the killers string them up to work the animal from both sides.

If the killers have the time, they skin the animal, harvest near the entire carcass, yes it is a carcass when butchered as they do for meat...correct terminology of the remains left behind.
Skeleton and was told innards were left on some I understand, not much else.

Last I saw the reward is over $46,000 and climbing...possibly over $50,000 now...
The word is out everywhere and money talks...
Investigations are ongoing...and when the trap is sprung there will be no mercy and no light punishment for those caught and the rings exposed..
The laws are in place and this time they will be enforced...to the fullest extent compounded by each death of a animal!
There will be no hand-slap this time like has occurred in the past...
That though does not erase the horrible memories some have of their animals remains left behind...for that I am so sorry.
Nothing can erase those horrors from the mind.

Yes, stealing instead of buying the animals saves the killers $$ but also they leave behind the mess the killer must otherwise dispose of somehow without raising questions of why so many carcasses if dumped/disposed of properly.

hlg.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the update, I haven't heard any more about the horse slaughterings. So good to get informed on what's going on.

So please keep sharing any new info you receive. I'm truely concerned for all those with horses in Florida.

Very heart breaking 💔 the horror these owners who have, lost there horses to these horrible creeps. Hope there caught and soon
 
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