Animal rights advocates are calling for an investigation into the killing of 14 wild horses in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in eastern Arizona.
Scott Beckstead, the director of campaigns and equine welfare specialist for the Center for Humane Economy, is calling for those responsible to be charged.
He shared with AZ Family that whoever is responsible for the “premeditated, vicious animal cruelty” is a “very real danger to people and animals.”
The horses were found with gunshot wounds to the abdomen, head, and between the eyes in the Alpine and Springerville Ranger District, according to the National Forest Service.
There were more horses in the herd that the 14 belonged to, but witnesses have reported that they, too, are missing and fear they could be injured or dead.
“We hope to see swift and aggressive action by federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to apprehend the sadistic killer who committed these heinous acts and bring them to justice,” Beckstead said.
A settlement between the Forest Service and environmental groups has left the herd as a common target due to the horses harming sensitive habitats for endangered species. Twenty horses have already been captured by the Forest Service.
However, they currently have an unprotected status, meaning they are at risk of being killed or sold to buyers in Mexican or Canadian meat plants.
Simone Netherlands, of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, shared with AZ Family that it’s “sickening” to see them killed.
“This atrocity of the shooting shows just how much hate there is for these horses - it’s incomprehensible,” Netherlands said.
This is not the first horse killing to hit the area, as a $20,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever killed five horses in eastern Nevada last year.
It is not known if the killings in Arizona and Nevada are related.
The National Forest Service shared that they are “coordinating with the appropriate officials in support of the investigation.”
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