On Sunday and Monday, December 27 and 28, twenty-five horses were found shot to death in or near Devil’s Flat valley, Nevada. An additional six horses were found via a helicopter search on Tuesday, December 29. A total of thirty-one bodies were found. This is the largest single shooting of wild horses in Nevada since the mid-1980s when 600 horses were killed over a two year span. The latest shootings are not believed to be due to disagreement between ranchers and the federal government as was the case in the mid-1980s.

Included in the horses found shot were pregnant mares and young colts, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Towery. He added that some were maimed and at least one was tortured after being shot with sprays to the head from a fire extinguisher.

State officials used metal detectors to locate bullets in the carcasses of the horses. The bullets were then sent to a forensic laboratory in hopes of leading officials to the killers. A reward of more than $20,000 has been posted for the arrest of the perpetrators