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Authorities find 15 horses fatally shot in eastern Kentucky

Posted at 9:40 AM, Dec 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-19 11:43:05-05

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (AP) -- At least 15 horses have been fatally shot at a strip mine site in eastern Kentucky, authorities said.

The horses were found on a site along U.S. 23 near the Floyd-Pike County line, WYMT-TV reported Tuesday. A $500 reward is being offered for information on the shootings.

Tonya Conn with Dumas Rescue, an animal rescue group, said the dead horses were scattered over a large area and it appears they were hunted.

"Seeing them gunned down is ... beyond horrific," Conn said.

Authorities said some of the horses were young and some were pregnant.

"This is very inhumane and it's a very cruel act of somebody who just apparently had nothing else to do or whatever just to go back on a strip job and shoot down horses who were, one of them obviously was feeding, had grass in its mouth," Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said. "It looked like a battlefield for just horses."

Hunt said the person responsible could face animal cruelty charges at a minimum.