ARM Investigates a pet horse found slaughtered for her meat, in NW Miami.

ARM investigators were called to help find the cold blooded killers who snuck into a barn nestled in a rural area of NW Miami (Florida), where they slaughtered a cherished pet horse.  The area, which ARM investigators know all too well for heinous crimes against animals, is notorious for extreme, brutal and illegal operations where animals become helpless victims in exchange of making profits for criminals.

The victim this time around was a 7 year old grey mare named Puti. She was discovered by the family and their two young children who had gone to visit their beloved horse. Instead of being greeted by her usual nickering, the Serrano family discovered Puti, out of her stable and laying in a pool of her own blood. Puti had been stabbed in the heart twice with what appeared to be from an ice pick. She was missing half of her body where the killers had hacked away at her body to sell her meat on the thriving Black Market. A delicacy in Florida, horse meat can yield between $7 and $40 a pound.  However , and due to ARM’s work, it is also catergorized as a third degree felony if convicted or even associated of the crimes. (See The Good Horse Slaughter Act)

ARM’s Founder, Richard Couto, led the investigations with his team and stated that “the horse had put up a struggle but was stabbed with an ice pick multiple times suffering a fatal wound to the heart (shown in the image below with two sticks inserted to demonstrate the points of entry), .  Puti was then butchered while she was still alive. The majority of the meat taken was striped from the mares back. It was the work of amateurs and the horse suffered for sure”.

The Serrano Family met with ARM Investigators and were clearly traumatized but assisted in information that may lead to capturing the criminals who killed their family member.  Couto commented “This didn’t only affect the life of this animal, but it affected the whole family and it’ll affect them for their entire lives,”.

Unfortunately this discovery was not the first that ARM has investigated at this same location. Last year, in an eerily similar incident, ARM had been called to the same location on another pet horse who was also slain in an identical fashion, simply steps away.  ARM is certain that they are looking for the same culprit.

Illegal horse slaughter is prevalent in Florida and although incidences have decreased due to the pressure and investigations led by ARM, they are still exsistent. Illegal horse slaughter remains one of ARM’s major focuses.  To learn more about ARM’s Black Market and Illegal Horse Slaughter investigation, click here.