Over 20 Horses Dead in Horrific Horse Massacre in Kentucky Last Week

About a week ago, fifteen horses were found shot and killed in Kentucky. It was a devastating story and people were having trouble comprehending who could do such a thing. But the story became worse. Six more horses were found dead, clearly victims of the same shooting. Many of the horses were very young, just about a year old, and some were pregnant. But that didn’t stop who ever committed this awful crime.

Authorities are searching for the person(s) who did this. Dumas Rescue are working with Floyd County Sheriff’s Department to investigate and funds have been collected with the help of the public for a reward. Just $500 at first, the reward has since increased to $20,000 as details emerge and the importance of finding the criminal becomes more evident.

Source: Dumas Rescue/Facebook

The poor horses who were victims of this brutal attack are some of the hundreds of free-roaming horses along the “strip jobs,” former coal mines. The reason there are so many horses roaming in that area is because many were abandoned after the 2008 recession.

Dumas Rescue explains the location and situation best: “For those of you following our story of the horses who have been shot let me give those of you that don’t know what a strip mine is some info. Strip Mines or Mountain Top Removal Mining. They remove the top of the mountain to take the coal underneath. Once the mining has stopped, reclamation takes place. The plant trees, bushes and sow native grasses to put the mined area back as close to original as they can. These areas are vast areas encompassing many acres of land. While mainly flat it has valleys and dips and many roads and ponds. Horses are turned loose on these mined areas to graze and forage. We at Dumas label them as abandoned. Unfortunately the mining area isn’t monitored and there are many access roads by UTV and 4 Wheelers. Hunters also frequent the mined areas to hunt. There are numerous herds in Ky that have been abandoned and left to free roam. We try to provide hay and salt in the winter months to as many herds as we can. Just a little insight to what a strip mine is and how the horses got there.”

Some of the horses had owners but were still allowed to roam. In fact, this case was brought to authorities when an individual reported that he found five of his horses dead. Authorities then found more bodies and it became clear there was a horse massacre in Kentucky.

Kentucky Humane Society President and CEO Lori Redmon says: “this was intentional. Just the magnitude of it and where they were was so remote, (so) whoever did it had to be prepared to go up there with ATVs and guns and shoot them … It’s senseless. That’s what makes it so heinous and one that sticks in your mind.”

President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Kitty Block agrees: “It takes a truly heinous person to mercilessly shoot more than a dozen horses and leave them for dead.”

Many organizations and concerned citizens are donating money to contribute to the reward because justice must be served. The culprit must face animal cruelty charges! You can donate too and sign this petition to demand justice!

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