Florida: Body parts of a horse are found strewn along a roadside in Florida sparking investigation into horsemeat black market

FLORIDA -- Body parts of a slaughtered horse were found strewn alongside a dirt road in Homestead, Florida, on Sunday.

It has sparked officials to launch an investigation into the illegal butchering of animals and the sale of horsemeat in the city.

Homestead is considered to be a 'hot spot' for horse killings, according to Richard Couto, head investigator of the nonprofit private group Animal Recovery Mission (ARM).

 

'It’s a real problem in Miami-Dade County,' Couto, who founded the organisation that investigates animal abuse and illegal slaughterings, told the Miami Herald.

The group estimated 90 per cent of the horse's body had been removed, including the skin - most likely in a nearby property - leaving just the head, bones and some organs.

Based on the dead animal's teeth, the horse was thought to be eight-years-old when it was killed.

Couto said: 'This animal was certainly tortured and butchered alive. It’s a real grueling death.'

On the black market, horsemeat can fetch anything from $4.50 to $40 a pound and is eaten primarily for medicinal reasons.

Around 30,000 horses are butchered every year in the state - most of which are stolen or procured illegally.

Police from the county's agricultural unit will investigate the latest crime, but admit they are overstretched.

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If caught, the perpetrator could face a prison sentence of one to five years in prison and a $3,500 fine.

ARM was founded in 2010 and since 2011 the organisation, staffed by volunteers, has investigated 236 cases of horse slaughter.

One horse can be sold for as much as $1,500 for meat - a huge profit, when many ponies sell for as little as $500 on the open market.

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(Daily Mail - Aug 1, 2016)