Breaking News! Reward sky rockets to bring in the Salt River wild horse killer
BREAKING NEWS PRESS RELEASE
***BREAKING- For Immediate Release:
Monday November 7th 2016,
Reward for Finding Salt River Wild Horse Killer Soars to $25,000!
Animal Recovery Mission of Florida Matches Existing Reward Fund!
The reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot and killed a baby Salt River wild horse and wounded two other young horses soared to $25,000 thanks to a matching offer from ARM Investigations of Florida.
Immediately after the shooting, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) and the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) offered a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator, and the Humane Society of the United States and Schill Law Firm quickly added to the reward. In addition the public has contributed to the reward and rescue fund as well in a Gofundme account. As of November 7th the total reward fund had added up to $12,500. Any member of the public wanting to contribute to the reward can visit this link; http://wildhor.se/2epCqhn
However to date, no tips leading to the suspect’s apprehension have been received. This week, ARM Investigations, which is closely tied to the fight to protect the Salt River Wild Horses as a coalition partner of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, decided boldly to match the existing reward fund.
ARM is in the business of fighting extreme animal cruelty and was created to investigate, expose and derail some of the most untouchable animal cruelty in America today. ARM’s investigations have brought hundreds of illegal animal slaughter operations to their knees. The organization also focuses on conservation programs, including the protection and preservation of wild horses and burros.
Richard ‘Kudo’ Couto, ARM Founder and President stated, “In our experience, in cases that have become stagnant, we found that offering an extremely large reward often succeeded in bringing a crucial tip forward. These kind of despicable acts upon animals, in this case the innocent and cherished Salt River wild horses, are unacceptable and taking a stance is a moral and societal obligation to do the right thing; in addition we hope it will discourage and any future heinous acts against the Salt River wild horses”.
“The coward who shot these innocent and beloved wild horses needs to be brought to justice,” added Simone Netherlands, President of the SRWHMG. “We are so thankful to our coalition partners and to Sherrif Joe Arpaio and MCSO and are hopeful that this spectacular amount of reward money will bring forth and encourage the tip that leads to the shooter’s arrest and conviction. Somebody knows exactly what happened, and that person can ensure that justice is served while receiving a financial reward at the same time.”
Background: On Friday, Oct. 21 at about 6 p.m., according to MCSO, a witness saw a man wearing black shorts and a dark green shirt shooting three Salt River wild horses. The witness saw one of the horses flailing in the river, and observed two other horses get hit with rounds from a rifle or shotgun. The suspect chased after the horses as they fled. Two other individuals are believed to have been with the person who shot the horses.
On Saturday, Oct. 22 the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group found a Salt River wild horse, – a 6-month foal named Kai – dead, with gunshot wounds to the side of his neck and head. Two other horses in the same family band appeared to have possible small bullet wounds but survived and are recovering on their own.
Anyone with information about the shooting can call either the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group at 480-868-9301
or the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office at 602-876-1011.
### The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) is an Arizona non-profit organization. The SRWHMG is dedicated to protect, monitor and study the Salt River wild horses. The SRWHMG has been spearheading the effort to secure lasting protections for this iconic and beloved wild horse herd in the Tonto National Forest.
### Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) is a Miami based non-profit organization. ARM is dedicated to investigating, exposing and shutting down illegal and extreme animal cruelty operations including those involved in the black market horse meat trade, illegal animal slaughter farms and fighting operations.
For interview requests with ARMs Founder, Richard ‘Kudo’ Couto, please contact Taylor at taylor@arminvestigations.org
Breaking News Video
On Friday 21st October, 2016, a band of wild horses that peacefully resides along the banks of the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona, were targeted and shot at by a heartless person. Whilst two of the horses survived the ambushed attack, Kai- a six month old foal was killed by multiple gunshot wounds. In a bizarre and sickening twist of events, Kai was also found mutilated of his genitals.
After this news came to light local people were outraged residents. This is not the first time that the wild horses of Salt River have been shot at and injured. In-fact, volunteers of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) who are on the river daily, suspect that these majestic horses are being hunted. Ironically, almost a year ago to this shooting, a wild horse by the name of ‘Dotty’ was found dead from three shots to the head and one shot to the shoulder. Two other horses also met the same fate and a pattern appears to be emerging given the hunting season period. It is important to note that prior to the Salt River wild horses garnering media attention, 1-2 horses a year were reported shot and killed.
Whilst the Maricopa Sheriff’s department has been working hard to find the culprit, no strong leads have surfaced to date. Witnesses identified a description of the man as wearing black shorts and a green shirt. In its efforts to enhance the search and arrest of the guilty offenders, The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG), which ARM is a coalition partner of, has headed a reward for the arrest and conviction of the horse killers. ARM has offered to match the reward that is raised in the hopes to not only catch the killer, but to set an example of their actions and to set the stage that such behavior and harassment towards these beloved wild horses will not go unpunished.
The two remaining horses who were also shot at, are currently being monitored closely and have been acknowledged as incurring wounds, possibly from the bullet ricochets. The SRWHMG and their volunteers are on the Salt River daily to ensure their safety and determine if they will need to be brought in to be treated.
The public still has a chance to add to the reward by doing to the Go Fund Me page, which ARM will then match.
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