Horses found slaughtered in SW Miami-Dade
MIAMI - Miami-Dade Police are investigating another incident of horse slaughter in southwest Miami-Dade.
The carcasses of the horses were found in the area of SW 124th Street and SW 197th Avenue.
Chopper4 over the scene spotted what appeared to be the carcasses of three horses in a brush-covered area.
Miami-Dade police are sure the purpose of the slaughter was to sell the meat.
The owner of one of the horses said he lost a 14-year-old female Paso Fino named Paloma who was used for equine therapy to help children and adults with disabilities.
David Yepez told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that he had owned Paloma for 2 years and had used her at a former school to help people with cognitive disabilities.
Yepez said, "I am feeling a lot of hurt. There are no words to express how I feel. This was a horse that gave so much to kids and parents and helped them out and this was not the type of ending that anyone could have expected."
"We have to be mindful that we live in a society and just because it is not your horse or your property, you need to say something if you see something and say something if you know something. It is important that the community help out in these cases. When something like this happens it brings back so many memories of the kids and how Paloma was so important in their lives."
"Our Agriculture and Environmental Crimes Unit was the one that responded to reports of horses that were stolen. Once they started searching the area, unfortunately, they found the three horses were slaughtered. It's sad to be able to have that type of discovery."
"We're talking to the owners, they are heartbroken, they're distraught. One of them was born here at this farm and that owner raised them until they were adults. This is something that continues to occur and we can't emphasize (enough) the importance, that people understand, that it's not good to eat horse meat because of the fact that it is not good for human consumption. They are given medicines and substances that can be harmful to humans," said Miami-Dade police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.
"You are talking about animals that are elegant and people love these animals because they don't do harm to anyone else," he said.
He said the other two horses were named Bucefelo, who was 6 to 8 years old and who was raised on the farm and Miranda, who was 20 years old.
He added that the community has to come together to put a stop to this because the horses are beautiful and loved, and it's wrong that they are slaughtered simply because someone wants to make money.
Last month, two horses were slaughtered and found in pieces in southwest Dade. At the time Georgina Milhet, an animal activist, said it was the fourth such incident in the last two and a half weeks.
Zabaleta said police were looking for surveillance tape. Witnesses are urged to come forward and call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) if they can help.
"As a community, we need to come together," he said.