For two months, during the last summer, several hundred horses were found mutilated, their bodies disemboweled and their ears cut off in several regions of France.
An unbearable situation for equine breeders who had decided to unite to fight against an unforeseeable and unexplained phenomenon.
The local gendarmeries were tasked with investigating and a national unit within the Central Office for the Fight against Attacks on the Environment and Public Health (OCLAESP), a body associated with the Ministry of the Interior, centralized the information.
Following the anguish of the owners and the extent of the phenomenon, the government set up a toll-free number in early September, relayed by the French Equestrian Federation.
To read also: Mutilated horses: the latest progress of a "long term" investigation
Since this summer, 460 cases have been identified in France by OCLAESP.
But by removing the natural or accidental causes and once the investigations have been carried out, this figure drops to 84. In Ille-et-Vilaine, for example, the gendarmerie concluded that there was no human involvement in local cases, reports Ouest France.
“
The latest expertises have made it possible to eliminate the trail of human intervention.
Each time, our investigations have concluded with accidental injuries or attacks of wild animals
”, indicates Commander Olivier Maldant of the Vitré gendarmerie company.
"
20% of the violence observed can be attributed to the hand of man,
" confirms the Ministry of the Interior.
The remaining 80% can be attributed to wild beasts or to the horse itself.
Read also: Tortured horses: behind the scenes of the hunt to stop the mysterious skinners
A conclusion which not only puzzles the breeders but also creates a feeling of anger in them: “
Do you think these are badgers?
Such a clean cut and so cruel?
It's impossible
”, gets carried away Léon
,
owner of equines in the Pays de la Loire
.
“I don't believe it, it's impossible,”
adds Lucie *, who owns around ten horses.
"I will not let my guard down, I will continue to watch over my animals, whatever the outcome of the investigations, they are wrong."
An exasperation relativized by Angèle * who continues to watch over these six equines: "
There have always been some crazy people and there will always be some
".
For the breeder, when the gendarmes conclude that an animal injury, this does not necessarily mean that the man is excluded from all responsibility.
It can also be cumulative elements such as young people opening the boxes and "
the animal is indeed injured on its own
".
However, she remains convinced that some mutilations have been carried out by man "
seeing how it was done, only a human can operate in this way
".
Less numerous acts since the end of September
Malicious acts which seem to be rarefied since the end of September, indicates the Breton commander Olivier Maldant.
A finding shared by horse owners present in support groups on social networks.
“
There are fewer shared alerts, it's true, but we remain vigilant,
” says Gérard *, owner of six mares in the Orne region.
However, a new case was spotted on Wednesday 2 December near Niort where a mare was found alive but mutilated in her genitalia.
The town hall of Rochénard (Deux-Sèvres) called on its inhabitants to be particularly vigilant.
To read also: "I do not sleep any more at night": faced with mutilated horses, breeders are mobilizing
Despite disparate progress depending on the region, the surveys allow us to draw an initial robot portrait of the culprits for the proven cases.
"It is mainly about sexual deviance with acts of zoophilia",
assures the Ministry of the Interior.
* First names have been changed at their request for security reasons