Animal Legal Defense Fund Puts $5K Bounty On Weekend Horse Killer
Cotati, CA – The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the perpetrators or perpetrators who shot and killed a horse on Sunday in Santa Rosa, California.
The Press Democrat reports that someone armed with a high-caliber rifle shot a horse on Sunday as it stood in its pasture in the hills above Bennett Valley. The shot wounded the horse, causing it to sprint back to its stable where it ultimately died.
“It’s just devastating,” said the unnamed, frightened owner.
Delta Fox, a 17-year-old male American warmblood, and two other horses had been put out to pasture together on Sunday morning. “They came racing up the hill in a huge panic,” she said. “One of them entered the stall and collapsed. My husband went over to see and found a hole through the horse’s flank.”
The couple called for help around 9 am, with Sheriff’s deputies, county animal control officers, and the sheriff’s helicopter responding. The woman’s husband raised the horse, which she described as a “very youthful 17, a graceful animal, very kind and a good mind.”
Police have no leads, prompting the national nonprofit ALDF to offer a $5,000 reward for any information that directly leads to the arrest of a suspect.
“Residents of Santa Rosa have a legitimate cause for concern when criminals are on the loose who could shoot a kind and gentle horse for no reason,” says ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells in a statement.
The ALDF asks anyone with information relating to the identity of the mystery horse killer of Bennett Valley in Santa Rosa, CA to call them at 707-795-2533, extension 1010.
