Animal welfare authorities in Utah are seeking those responsible for killing a horse, then apparently butchering it for its meat.

Sgt. Zach Todd of Salt Lake County Animal Services said the 6-year-old registered American Saddlebred gelding was discovered dead in its pasture on Nov. 3. The horse had sustained a single small-caliber gunshot wound to its face and had been mutilated and dismembered.

"He had been butchered the way someone would field dress a deer; all the meat portions of the horse were gone and his legs were removed," Zach said.

Owner Jennifer Corrillo said the horse was residing in a pasture with other horses and some cattle when the incident took place. None of the other animals were injured, she said