Earlier this month several horses were found shot dead in a rehabilitated strip mine area in Floyd County. The authorities are offering rewards for people who identify the killer behind the inhumane crime. The horses have been living in the strip of land in two main herds for several years. Authorities say that at least 15 were shot dead.
"This is very inhumane," Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt told local TV station WYMT, "and it's a very cruel act of somebody who just apparently had nothing else to do or whatever just to go back on a strip job and shoot down horses who were, one of them obviously was feeding, had grass in its mouth."
Some of the horses in the herd were brought in by their owners, while some were wild horses. The killings of the animals were dubbed as an inhumane and pure act of evil by the people who owned the neighbouring land. The money for the reward grew from $500 after animal lovers came to know about the incident.
They were attacked in their own homes
The County Sheriff also said that they counted the horses and all of them appeared to have been shot. He also said that the scene looked like a battlefield for just horses. Sources say that two of the slain horses were pregnant and miscarried after being shot. The community was startled by the incident. The beautiful landscape is home to these wild horses. The animals were attacked in their own homes.
The sheriff's department said that it was heart-wrenching to see the beautiful creatures dead but at the same time it was heartwarming to see the people coming together to find the killer. The first call about dead horses came on Monday and by Thursday the reward amount had increased substantially.
