16/01/2026

The association challenges the request for dismissal regarding Dr. Alan Maximilian Risolo, the veterinarian in charge of chemical immobilization (telenarcosis), and Dr. Marco Perroni, an ASL veterinarian—both initially investigated by the same Prosecutor on the charge of killing animals (Art. 544-bis of the Italian Penal Code)—arguing that the investigations carried out so far are partial, flawed, and inadequate to clarify the serious responsibilities that emerged in the management of the intervention.

“We cannot accept that a case of such gravity be dismissed without fully clarifying what happened,” said Sonny Richichi, President of IHP. “Those horses could and should have been saved. Euthanasia was not the only possible solution, and the operational methods adopted raise serious questions from a professional, ethical, and legal standpoint. We ask that the investigations continue and that all responsibilities be ascertained.”

From the case files, numerous contradictions emerge among the versions provided by the parties involved, along with serious investigative omissions and a lack of fundamental technical analysis—starting with the appropriateness of the drugs used for sedation and verification of the existence of concrete alternatives to killing the animals.

“The protection of animals cannot be subordinated to haste or lack of planning,” Richichi continued. “We are talking about four horses, two of which were young domestic fillies, microchipped and accustomed to human contact. In an area that, as documented, was flat and partially fenced, there were alternatives to killing them. It is the duty of institutions to demonstrate that everything possible was done before resorting to an irreversible decision.”

IHP reiterates that the investigations conducted so far have not clarified why additional containment techniques were not attempted, why the area was not secured with mobile fencing or temporary traffic restrictions, and why no independent veterinary medical expert opinion was ordered.

“As an association, we will continue to pursue every legal avenue to ensure full transparency about what happened,” the President of IHP concluded. “We owe it to those horses, and to everyone who believes in animal management based on competence, responsibility, and respect for life.”

IHP will continue to monitor and act to ensure that incidents like the one in Tarquinia are neither normalized nor forgotten.