Florida Horses Illegally Slaughtered for Meat

(South Florida) Over the past year, police, property owners and animal rights activists have been stymied by a number of incidents in Miami-Dade County where horses have been illegally killed and butchered.

Typically working at night in deserted locations, the perpetrators have successfully avoided investigators.

Now, it appears that the scope of horse killings has expanded to include Broward County.

That's what police say happened to two horses recently found slain at a Miramar ranch, an incident that has the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals worried that a disturbing trend has crossed the county line.

The owner of the ranch in the 4600 block of Flamingo Road, mechanic Humberto Ramos, called police May 6 to report the deaths of the animals. He found them near a gate, lying in pools of blood with their legs severed, less than 50 yards from the road. Their haunches, rump and parts of their abdomen were missing.

Upon apprehension, the poachers could face multiple charges including burglary, grand theft and animal cruelty. Animal activist groups are offering rewards for information leading to a conviction.

It's noteworthy that eating horse meat is not illegal. For example, a person can legally raise, kill and eat his own horse. The problem in Florida arises because the horses being killed don't belong to the butchers.

Of course, the poaching of horses is somewhat predictable when the economy is in the dumper and the price of meat continually rises. In fact, I would suspect that there has also been an increase in the poaching of deer and other wild game.