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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 Slaughter Death Toll in Nevada The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a story on January 1st, 1999 covering the death toll of wild horses in Nevada. Investigators completed field autopsies on 34 wild horses slaughtered in northern Nevada and began trying to understand what kind of person would shoot dozens of mustangs and leaving them for dead. Law enforcement officers found the 34th victim when they widened their helicopter search because some of the dead horses were being found miles away from where they had been fatally wounded, limping away to die in distress. Investigators have dismissed the theory of the shootings being connected to a dispute between ranchers and the government over wild horses competing for livestock. This wide spread slaughter led to a reward offer, as the Deseret News carried a story on January 2nd, 1999 by the Associated Press wanting information that would lead to an arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the deaths of 34 horses. The townspeople are counting on a reward of $35,000 plus to help catch the killers of the horses that used to roam the canyons and hills just east of Reno. The wild horses were shot to death at close range with a rifle. “If there’s enough money put up, then somebody will say something about it to somebody,” said Lydia Hammack, president of the Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association in Nevada. “Somebody will be over heard yucking it up in a bar or bragging to their friends.” The slaughter of the horses was the worst Nevada had ever seen since several hundred were shot over a two-year period during the mid-1980s. “We’re handling it just as we would a murder,” Storey Country Sheriff’s Sgt. Bill Petty said. Prosecutors said they would seek charges that could bring two to five years in prison for each of the horse killings. Several young colts and pregnant mares were among those killed, some were maimed and at least one was blasted with fire extinguisher. Many of the wounded suffered for days, some limped for miles when authorities found them and put them to death. “These bullets have chipped the hearts of everybody around here,” said John Tyson, a range management officer. “It offends normal people everywhere, but even more so people in the West who consider these horses part of our heritage.” Animal protection organisations nationwide are lining up to contribute. The Humane Society of the United States has given $10,000. The Denver Post covered the story January 3rd, 1999 by Scott Sonner of The Associated Press about the effects on the local community involved in the sickening slaughter of the dead horses. Bobbi Royle has been on a lot of animal rescue calls but nothing prepared her for the sight of two dozen wild horses shot dead at close range. “We saw only two horses at first,” said Royle of the horse adoption group, Wild Horse Spirit, based in the nearby Washoe Valley. “Then, oh my God, we saw another one. And then a fourth and a fifth. It was horrible,” she said. In the 1980s, 600 horses were shot in Nevada over a two-year period; this number of 34 made it the worst since that occurrence. “All of the horses appeared to have been shot multiple times before dying,” Washoe County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Towery said after a helicopter search brought up the latest bodies. Investigators suspect more than one gunman was involved in the shootings, using a high-powered rifle over that fateful weekend. A $35,000 reward was offered by a number of animal protection groups for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers who apparently used the horses for target practice. “This kind of stuff is just sick and absolutely senseless,” said Paul Iverson, administrator of the Nevada Division of Agriculture. “Some of them were shot and left to suffer for a long period of time.” “There was one little filly still alive, probably just eight or nine months old. She was shot in the back and paralysed,” Royle said. “She could only move her front a little, her head. She had to be put down.” All the horses had been shot at close range about 5 miles east of the Reno Sparks area. Twenty-five of the horses had been found in and around a valley known as Devil’s Flat on December 27 and 28. Somebody got a present for Christmas. Eight additional horses were found during a helicopter search the following day. Of those were three still alive that had to be put down. Some of the mustangs were maimed and at least one was tortured with sprays to the head from a fire extinguisher after being shot, Towery said. “There’s no rationale for it,” he said. State officials used a metal detector to locate and remove the bullets for forensic analysis. “There’s just a total outrage. People are so upset,” said Lydia Hammack, President of Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association in Virginia City. “These animals are magnificent animals and I really can’t understand how somebody can do this. It’s a real sicko that’s out there.” Horse Slaughter Death Toll in Nevada written by Bill Barber |
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