Imagine the horror experienced when you go looking for your ten horses and two donkeys, and you find the worst has happened. Seven have been gunned down and killed in a hail of bullets, while another four have run into the woods gravely wounded. You find two of them too badly injured to save and then have to have them euthanized, while the other two who are injured are expected to survive. Only one of the entire herd of twelve entirely escaped the massacre. This is what Dalton and Selena Christian of Van Vleet, Mississippi, a small community in Chickasaw County, discovered on the morning of September 19, 2017.

When the massacre was discovered, Mr. Christian was advised to call In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign. We are known in the region for aiding with such atrocities. We learned that it’s suspected that the horses were sadistically mowed down in retaliation for their breaking out onto neighboring property. There are facts we have deliberately not released yet, but there is cause to suspect the neighbor who threatened to kill the horses for getting onto his property before, despite Mr. Christian having had an agreement to pay for any damage they caused.  The horses were discovered slain in the already harvested corn field of the neighboring property.

The Christians treasured their horses. They spoke of them as family and told of the time their family and friends spent with them. Of the slaughter, Selena posted on social media a message about a reward offered for anyone with information on “the sadistic scumbag who brutally murdered all of our innocent pets.”

Initially the Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Department and the regional game wardens were involved in the investigation.  Even with a metal detector, no casings were found; obviously picked up by the shooter, or shooters. A veterinarian who was called to the scene recovered only one slug.  It’s possible the bullets passed through their bodies because they were shot with a high-powered automatic weapon.

On September 25, the Mississippi Livestock and Theft Bureau joined the investigation.  A $5,000 reward was initially offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, or perpetrators of this egregious act of cruelty. Selena posted that there is another $2,500 added to the reward, totaling $7.500. A tip regarding a conversation overheard between individuals who were talking and laughing about how the horses were taken care of is being looked into.

In Defense of Animals will be following this case and will keep you informed as it progresses. IF we need your help in reminding officials that the world is watching, we will enlist your aid. This is a felony crime.  Mississippi law provides for horses to be removed, held, and for recompense.