A horse owner in Southwest Miami-Dade is asking for the community’s help in finding the person behind the slaughter of two of her animals.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the horses were last seen at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday and were reported missing by the owner at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
About two hours later, the horses were found dead right across the street.
Their owner, Marte Insignares, said this is not the first time the horses have been stolen in the last few weeks. She said the horses were her world.
“Everybody that knows me knows that my horses are in my breathing space, almost,” she said.
Insignares said that whoever killed her horses had a plan. She said the perpetrator cut holes through her fence and stole the horses before killing them right across the street.
“I’ve been out here for 25 years, never thought it could happen to me,” she said. “I thought I was safe. I had the lights, the cameras, the dogs. I moved out here to keep my horses safe, and it happened to me.”
Insignares and her friends said this is not the first time horses have been stolen.
“One last week, one the week before, now these two today, and they’re just brazen, brazen, brazen,” said Georgina Malay, who also had her horses stolen.
Pictures of one of those horses show the animal with its eyes still open.
Malay has made it her mission to save horses from being stolen and slaughtered in South Florida. She said the Southwest Miami-Dade area has seen various horses stolen and slaughtered in the past year.
7News reported last year about a man who lives adjacent to Marte who also had two horses stolen and slaughtered just blocks away from his home.
“People out there who know who this is, ’cause they are the ones that are buying the meat. That meat is already sold before the horse is slaughtered,” said Malay.
Miami-Dade police said that the horses appeared to be slaughtered for their meat, which can be sold anywhere for $10 to $20 a pound.
Police has not confirmed why this happened, as they continue their searching for the people behind the slaughters.
