Some good news out of Miami: a second person has recently been arrested in a case of horse slaughter. The presumed criminal has been charged with multiple felonies including animal cruelty.
The black market for horse meat has prompted the slaughter of about 20 horses in the Miami-Dade area. This particular criminal and his accomplices slit the horse's throat and legs and had planned to sell the meat. He was arrested near a horse pasture with a duffle bag stuffed with a butcher knife, a rope and garbage bags. He is eighteen years old.
Horse owners in the Miami area have been on tenterhooks regarding the safety of their steeds since many horses have been butchered literally in their pastures or not far from their homes. "I'm delighted--so happy, so pleased, so proud that the police nabbed the guy," said Jeanette Jordan, president of the South Florida SPCA, which has joined with the Florida police to lend their expertise to these investigations.
The arrest was actually made as a result of a community effort. The suspect asked one of his neighbors for a ride to a nearby pasture where he said he was going to slaughter two horses. He also asked the neighbor if he was interested in buying any horse meat.
The neighbor played along and then called the police. They put a wire on him and then followed him to a cafeteria where an undercover officer, pretending to be the neighbor's uncle, negotiated the illegal sale of horse meat. Then police moved in and nabbed the suspect.
"This typifies what can happen when the community gets involved," said Captain Scott Andress, of the Miami-Dade Police Agricultural Patrol.
While many are breathing a sigh of relief, police continue to warn horse owners to remain vigilant and take precautions to secure their horses with tamper proof locks and consider installing video surveillance cameras.
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