Horse attackers kill again in France as pony is mutilated
Horse attackers kill again in France: Pony’s skull is smashed, its ear cut off and its diaphragm ‘explodes’ while a mare is ‘disembowelled’ in latest barbaric mutilations
- Pony was found dead with its ear and part of its face sliced off in Saint-Vallier
- Owner of disembowelled mare raised the alarm after reading of similar violence
- Severed ears have apparently been collected as ‘trophies’ in a wave of attacks
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
By Tim Stickings For Mailonline
Published: 09:24 EDT, 28 August 2020 | Updated: 11:14 EDT, 28 August 2020
A pony was found dead with its right ear cut off and its skull smashed while a mare was ‘disembowelled’ in the latest mysterious acts of savagery against French farm animals.
Part of the pony’s face was sliced off and its diaphragm had ‘exploded’ as though somebody had jumped on it, an autopsy revealed after the vicious attack in Saint-Vallier in the south of France.
Police told Le Journal de Saone-et-Loire there was ‘little doubt’ it was a human attack and that ‘technical and scientific’ personnel were hunting the culprits.
Violent attacks on horses have occurred across the country, with severed ears apparently being collected as ‘trophies’ – leaving authorities mystified.
Earlier today France’s agriculture minister vowed on Friday that those behind the acts of cruelty would be brought to justice.
Julien Denormandie, speaking on a visit to stables in Saint Eusebe where a horse’s ear was cut off, said: ‘We are here to show that all branches of the state are mobilising to get justice done.
‘There is clearly a professionalism, people acting with a certain level of technique.’
At least 15 horses have been mutilated across France since the start of the year, with eyes, ears and bones hacked from animals’ bodies (pictured, a horse found recently in Puy-de-Dôme)
In a separate attack, a mare was found ‘disembowelled’ in Vaucluse near the Mediterranean coast last weekend.
According to 20 Minutes, the mare’s owner raised the alarm after reading about similar acts of violence elsewhere in the country.
While most of the attacks have been on horses, a calf was found dead in the Sarthe department with its ear hacked off and lacerations on its genitals last Friday.
The attack on the calf in Sarthe has led prosecutors in Le Mans to open an investigation ‘given the national phenomenon of animal abuse that has been highlighted’.
‘This is the first case reported in the Sarthe department and, to our knowledge, the first case on a calf, the cases of abuse identified having mainly affected horses,’ a source told French media.
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating ‘acts of cruelty’ in Jura in eastern France after two mares had their genitals mutilated.
Local prosecutor Lionel Pascal denounced the ‘barbaric acts’ as ‘pure cruelty’ but said the two animals had survived the attacks.
A horse had its throat cut in Eure-et-Loir in France last weekend by attackers who were condemned by the animal’s owner as ‘barbarians’
A racehorse was found dead in February in the Vendée region, near Nantes, with one of its ears severed. The owner said it would have taken a group of people to restrain the animal
Elsewhere, a horse had its throat cut in Eure-et-Loir, a mare was found dead with an ear missing in Deux-Sevres while two others had their genitals mutilated near Saint-Claude but survived.
Johan Papillon, a farmer in Eure-et-Loir, raged at the ‘barbarians’ who had cut his horse’s throat in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Papillon said the attackers had put a halter around the horse’s neck and tied it to a tree in order to commit their ‘vile act’.
The animal survived but needed up to 300 stitches on its neck, according to Mr Papillon who said the horse had apparently broken free of its restraints.
Prosecutors say they have ‘no leads’ at the moment which could point them to the attackers.
Stable owner Thomas Desgres said he found his mare in her box with a slashed ear late Tuesday night.
He added: ‘Now, I sleep here. I patrol every half-hour. It’s tiring,’ he told Denormandie.
The president of the French Equestrian Federation Serge Lecomte, who accompanied the agriculture minister, said: ”It is cruel savagery of a kind we have rarely seen before.
‘Is it a cult? Cruelty towards animals is the precursor to cruelty towards humans.’
A donkey found dead in Forges les Eaux, north of Paris, in June had one of its eyes cut out and an ear removed
A horse found dead in Neuvy-en-Sullias, near Orelans, in March had been stabbed several times in the neck and stomach, and had an ear cut off
Animals have come under attack in various parts of France, including in northern France, near the Atlantic coast and in the countryside near Lyon.
At least 15 attacks on horses and donkeys have been reported in France since the start of the year.
One horse was even stabbed in its meadow across the border in Belgium, according to Estelle Beeckmans who condemned the ‘cowardly’ attack.
French media says there is no apparent link between the affected owners, apparently ruling out the possibility of revenge attacks.
However, the fact that the mutilated animals regularly have their ears cut off could mean that the attackers are pursuing a ‘trophy’.
Security officials have previously suggested the attacks could be linked to a fetish,s sadistic ritual or grisly online ‘challenge’.
‘Is this a challenge on the internet? The impulse of an individual? All avenues are being investigated,’ Bruno Wallart of the police in Riom in the Puy-de-Dome region of central France, where several horses have reportedly been mutilated, said in June.
Local investigations are backed by the Central Office on the Fight against Threats to Environmental and Public Health of the French national police.
