Investigators believe horse was going to be butchered for its meat

MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – Animal Recovery Mission investigators responded to reports of horse abuse Saturday afternoon. 

ARM investigator Richard "Kudo" Couto said he suspected there was evidence that a horse was likely going to be illegally slaughtered. 

Gruesome photos showed a horse after someone dragged the animal down a dirt road "to be butchered for its meat," Couto wrote on Facebook. 

There is a demand for horse meat in South Florida, where there is a community of immigrants from countries like Mexico and Cuba where the killing of horses for consumption is not illegal or taboo. 

In the black market, Miami-Dade detectives believe horse meat is sold for about $7 a pound at illegal slaughterhouses. 

Late last year, Miami-Dade prosecutors charged Manuel Coto-Martinez, 70, with unlawful sale of horse meat, after an undercover detective bought 20 punds of horse meet from him for $140. 

Local 10 News' Nicole Alvarez contributed to this report.