A horse was found mutilated dead in Sweden, with injuries considered to be of human origin, we learned this Wednesday from the police, the first fatal case reported since a mysterious wave of mutilation hit France.
A month earlier, on August 18, in the same area near the town of Jönköping in southern Sweden, a horse had been mutilated but survived.
The animal was this time found dead on Monday at a horse farm southeast of Jönköping and "it had several injuries that we believe were committed by humans," said Thomas Agnevik, a police spokesman. local.
An investigation was opened for "cruelty to animals" and "damage," police said.
The first cases that hit Sweden
These mutilation cases are the first reported in Sweden since a wave of similar attacks in France, which became the legal mystery of the summer.
The animals affected in France are mainly equines (horses, mares, ponies), of all breeds and of all ages.
In addition, financial value does not seem to be a criterion: these are both private horses and professional breeders.
The mutilations observed on dead animals are initially concentrated on the right ear.
Often deep and precise, they can thus make one think of a form of signature.