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CALUSO (TO): Horses tortured with electric shocks, whips, kicks, fists, jets of boiling water. Also the groom tortured and seriously injured by the owners of the breeding

05/04/2017

(April 5th, 2017)
Joint press release IHP – Progetto Islander

An unbelievable story of serious mistreatments, which had been going on for a long time and was brought to light by a service by Edoardo Stoppa of Striscia La Notizia, following some reports of irregularities in the handling of horses entering and leaving the structure.

At the time of the inspection, carried out in mid-February by Stoppa with the support of the Zoofile Guards, Provincial Command of Turin, there were about 60 horses, some of them with signs of wounds more or less recent, and 10 ponies. Various instruments have been found aimed at causing pain and/or wounds: sticks with electric struts and equipped with electrical cables and batteries, electric collar kits, 1 taser, spurs connected to electrical wires, a studded crownpiece.
Near the "training" horse walker a compressed air gun and a bottle of vinegar were also found with some impregnated gauzes.
Moreover, in a hiding place, many veterinary drugs have been found, most of which expired, and dozens of passports not belonging to any of the horses in the stable.

A horse and a pony showed clear signs on the body and their condition was such critical as to induce the Guards to make a preventive seizure for their immediate admission to the clinic.
Indeed, during the first on-site veterinary inspection, the horse had been found in the horse walker "with fresh and large bilateral abrasions caused by the intense and continuous rubbing with the work rope that was still worn at the time of the discovery".
Instead, the pony had difficulties in walking because of a serious lameness: it had a deep wound on the foot, with ongoing infection. She also had acute and bleeding injuries in the perineal region and old scars on the entire back of the body.

The report of the veterinary clinic where the horses had been immediately transferred, describes the pony in a state of serious malnutrition with a serious lameness on the right back due to a penetrating and deep foot injury that caused a widespread infection and a tendon lesion. And also other infections on the rear legs, scars on the legs, in the area of the vagina and on the snout, with a facial nerve injury.
While the bay horse, in addition to the still bleeding wounds, had clear signs of trauma to the left eye.

The other horses in the structure seemed literally terrified by the human presence, hiding in the corner of the box every time someone overlooked it.

From the information collected by Stoppa - who reported eyewitnesses - it would seem that the horses were being tortured with electric shocks, beaten with whips, iron bends, chains, subjected to violent jets of boiling water through a high pressure cleaner, left many hours in the horse walker (small training fence) with reins that forced them to stay with the neck down in an iperflexed position (extremely unnatural position that causes considerable pain and trauma).
Some horses in the structure had old scars at their legs, probably due to "rope wrapping", that is, narrow ropes on the joints causing trauma or serious abrasions.

As if that wasn’t enough, there seems to be a mass grave in an adjacent plot where it is suspected that some horses were buried: in fact, scrapers are working right these days to check. Investigators are also investigating whether there also have been cases of illegal slaughter of horses.

Yet, according to the information gathered, it seems that this person was also a riding instructor for children, making them even participate in races and competitions.

While the investigations were ongoing, yesterday the news was spread that the breeder and his companion would have beaten and tortured the groom for hours, causing him serious fractures, accusing him of being the one who denounced them (untrue statement, however).
For this crime both were placed under house arrest. During the police raid for the arrest, other electrical instruments were found, a clear sign that the breeder had started again his activity as if nothing had happened.

IHP and Progetto Islander now strongly ask for the breeding to be closed and for all horses to be seized and brought to safe places. Associations hope for an exemplary process for such a case of unprecedented brutality.


VIDEOS BY STRISCIA LA NOTIZIA:

2 March 2017: requisition of the horses

5 April 2017: interview to the groom tortured

24 April 2017: updates