10/02/2026

In recent years, IHP has documented and firmly denounced the link between illegal horse racing and organized crime in Sicily—phenomena that are not limited to improvised races on roads or fields, but revolve around criminal networks that exploit animals, funnel them into illegal circuits, and abandon them to unscrupulous exploiters.

Yet another serious confirmation of this drift came a few days ago from a law-enforcement operation between Lentini and Francofonte (Siracusa), reported by the local press: among stolen car parts, garages converted into depots for spare parts and illicit materials, officers also discovered a horse kept unlawfully, without identification, in a rudimentary stall inside a private property. The animal was found in conditions that did not comply with the law, and its unlawful keeping was sanctioned by the competent authorities. This means that the horse was not seized, but left in the hands of its “caretakers”: an unacceptable outcome due to the ineffectiveness of the laws currently in force in Italy, which IHP has been calling—forcefully and for years—to amend so they can truly protect the most vulnerable.

For IHP, this is not an isolated episode, but a snapshot of the criminal culture surrounding equines: a phenomenon that ranges from unlawful keeping to illegal racing and exploitation networks, often connected—in Sicily—to systems of fencing, black markets, and widespread illegality.

Our commitment remains steadfast: we work to protect horses, to demand transparency and legality in equine circuits, and to promote a profound cultural shift that safeguards horses’ lives and recognizes their dignity. The recent discovery reminds us how urgent it is to strengthen controls, identification, traceability, and real protection systems for all equines.