Remains of slaughtered horses found on rural land

The remains of at least one slaughtered horse were discovered Wednesday at a northwest Miami-Dade site where animal activists say at least a dozen horses previously had been dumped after they were killed for their meat.

Police confirmed the finding by the Animal Recovery Mission at the site which is a short distance south of the Broward County line, between Florida’s Turnpike and Okeechobee Road.

Rachel Taylor, a representative of the group, toured the so-called C9 Basin in a Facebook live video. Pushing back one area of overgrown scrub, she showed a spot where a mutilated horse appeared to be spread out in a small area.

“Every single part of its

Rachel Taylor of the Animal Recovery Mission

body has been like put into different bags,” Taylor said.

As activists combed the area they were finding bags of animal parts every 30 feet, Taylor said.

“Everything was chopped up in thousands of pieces,” she said.

Taylor said the group found 19 bags that appeared to contain the remains of several dead horses in different stages of decomposition.

“It was shocking today,” Taylor said, adding the horses likely suffered a great deal.

The organization was tipped to the site by a woman who was there feeding stray dogs when she saw one of the dogs apparently gnawing on a horse’s leg, Taylor said.

The area is a well-known dumping ground for horses slain for their meat and for animal sacrifices, according to the activists.

“It’s like its own country where anything goes,” Taylor said.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Argemis Colome said an investigator with the agency’s Agricultural Patrol unit found “several” bags containing the remains of one, or possibly two horses.

“We’re talking to everyone there, the homeowners. Hopefully we get somebody to cooperate. We’ll see if [any of the] houses have cameras.”

Staff writer Lisa J. Huriash contributed to this report.

“It’s like its own country where anything goes.”