TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — An Amite woman, who has spent decades saving the lives of abused and neglected horses, is asking why someone would come on her property and intentionally kill two of her rescues.
Investigators from the Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office are asking the same questions, and they need your help in solving the case.
“He was tied up in a backyard, a lot of stuff back there,” Alysia Maloney, Founder of the nonprofit Equine Advocacy of Louisiana, said about a lame horse she rescued.
On a tranquil equine sanctuary in Amite, where horses old and young, full sized and miniature, come to live in safety after they are seized from abuse, rescued from neglect, or surrendered by owners, something malicious and suspicious happened.
“I just don't understand why anyone would shoot them. They were my most vulnerable. I mean, they're little. They're minis. They're, the mama was old. She couldn't get away fast," Maloney said.
It was Sunday afternoon around 2 p.m., when a miniature mare and her miniature filly were killed in a back pasture.
“The mama had four or five, and the baby had two (gunshot wounds)," Maloney said. "The mama had one in the head, mostly in her abdomen, her side. And the baby had one in her buttocks, and one in her side.”
Maloney and her family are distraught. So are the other horses.
“Nobody's eating. They're very stressed. So I actually have a few that look like they've actually lost weight since it happened,” she said.
Tangipahoa sheriff's deputies are investigating the case. They spent Thursday morning on the grounds looking for clues.
“We think someone specifically went up there and targeted those miniature horses for malicious purposes,” Chief Jimmy Travis said.
Equine Advocacy of Louisiana operates on a tight budget. Last year, donations totaled only one fifth of the cost of caring for the horses, and the need is growing .
The nonprofit is so busy right now with the pandemic, costs and inflation, that they get calls every day from people who can't afford their horses, asking the organization to take care of them.
But now they are hoping to put together a reward for information on why, and who, took aim at the two animals on a hot summer afternoon.
To donate to the non-profit Equine Advocacy of Louisiana, or to adopt a horse, visit their website here or go to their Facebook page.
From the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office:
Chief Jimmy Travis asks if you have any information on the incident to please contact Sergeant Jill Hutcheson at 985-748-8147, or if you wish to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa’s anonymous tip line at 1-800-554-5245 or visit www.tangicrimestoppers.com and click on the P3 Tips icon or Submit A Tip! You may be eligible for a cash reward.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.