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.
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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.