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This article was originally written for a paranormal magazine called The Paranormal Journal, it became known as The Underground Files covering ghosts, ufos, cryptozoology, and government conspiracies amongst others. I no longer write for the magazine and it is no longer in existence. Horse Ripper Not Jack the Ripper but Horse Ripper, you read right…! In England on October 12, 1997, The Observer ran a story by Lucy Johnston about the investigation into numerous horse mutilations that have occurred over a number of years. It’s not just cattle that get the ‘knife’ or any other nasty instrument used in mutilating them, horses seem to get it too, ‘free range’ and roaming a field, just like sheep and cows. Now then, a special squad’s been setup to catch the perpetrators… They’re to solve one of Britain’s longest and macabre mysteries and at the time of writing it was believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough. The incidents covered a period of ten years, and there’s never been a successful prosecution. A squad of former high-ranking police officers, solicitors and a criminal psychologist, all with expert knowledge of equestrian crime was setup by a Norfolk based charity, the International League for the Protection of Horses. “We know who is doing this. It’s a question of pinning down evidence,” said Ted Barnes, formerly of the Metropolitan Police Equine Crime Unit, now a field officer with the new squad. “Police forces have higher priorities and most officers do not have in-depth knowledge of the horses or their attackers, especially in remote areas where most attacks occur,” he said. “This is why there have never been any prosecutions. If things go as we plan, we could well have something to celebrate.” The ‘horse rippers’ first came to public notice during the eighties, though attacks had occurred before that. After mutilations in Hampshire, the two-year operation Mountbatten failed to produce results. The phenomenon is now nationwide, there have been more than 100 attacks from Swindon to North Yorkshire and in Wiltshire one mare had to be destroyed on the 27th September. The incidents are on the increase. Cases have involved poisoning, an acid attack, shootings and slashing. A Shetland pony called Bobby had its mane set afire and its head tied to a railway line in Darlington. It was saved when two passers-by called the fire brigade; Master Lexion, a gelding from Hampshire was found with a rusty nail thrust into its chin and tongue. The squad has identified three types of assailant. The first two are down to earth offences from vandals and those that reek revenge… The third – the weirdest – people who are obsessed with carrying out rituals and the squad believe this latter group could be highly organised. “They leave trademarks, like serial killers,” said Barnes. “There are different theories about what lies behind their rituals. European experts have linked them to ley lines, mediaeval fertility rights or satanic rituals.” The trademarks include chalk markings, rope burns, hobbling in a particular way, burns on the legs and bloodletting. And, yeah, just like the dirty jokes, and worse, some attacks are sexually related… In good taste, however, they go something like this… Hampshire based Anita Jones, wife of sixties pop star Davy Jones and a member of the famous American group the Monkees, had two mares attacked within days of each other in July 1992. Annie received a wound to the shoulder; Chrissie had her genitals slashed and a fence post forced inside her. “It was horrific. Even now if I hear the slightest noise outside I send the dogs out thinking it might be the horse lunatic. There was definitely some sort of sexual ritual in this.” Chris Fairfax, who runs Alarm, a firm of solicitors working with the unit, said, “Our field officers know exactly what to look for, they can liaise with the police, consult our own database and then access our special legal team to investigate. After this we will either pass the file to the police for a prosecution or – if they don’t take it up – carry out our own.” At one point the League for the Protection of Horses launched an advertising campaign offering £5,000 award to anyone who could provide information leading to an arrest. “The problem has been getting worse. We now have the infrastructure, the expertise and the intelligence to put an end to it, but we need help from the public,” said Lucy Wickham, a spokeswoman for the league. Horse Ripper written by Bill Barber |
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