Farmer in Spain under investigation for starving horses

A farmer in Godelleta in Valencia is under investigation after the Guardia Civil found 19 painfully thin horses in filthy conditions on his property and the buried remains of other equines.

Most of the 19 horses still living showed signs of having been hardly fed for months, the Guardia said, following evaluations of the animals and where they were kept by official vets from the Valencia government Agriculture department.

The horses’ bones were clearly sticking out and their coats were in very poor condition.

The discovery of bones on the ground raised the authorities’ suspicions there could also be what was left of dead horses on the property.

A second inspection of an adjacent hill by Guardia Civil, Local Police officers, vets and personnel from Godelleta council, using an excavator due to the stench of something rotting, led to the unearthing of the remains of at least six horses in an advanced state of decomposition.

The 43-year old farmer faces charges for continued animal mistreatment.