Argentina | Ezeiza, province of Buenos Aires | “Field of horror” of Raúl Onorato
Our team helping the rural police to save the dying horses of Onorato.
For 25 horses, all help comes too late. They have died of hunger or thirst.
Another 70 horses will die in the following days and weeks as a result of the cruelty inflicted on them.
While our team is in Argentina investigating about the illegal trade of stolen horses, we learn about another case. More than 400 malnourished horses have been discovered on a field in Ezeiza near Buenos Aires. 25 of them are dead, four are dying. These horses belong to a dealer named Raúl Onorato, the father-in-law of Hernan Arbeo who recently delivered stolen horses to the Infriba slaughterhouse. Onorato has a long history of dealing with stolen horses and is currently under house arrest. However, his son and son-in-law continue to deliver horses to EU-approved slaughterhouses, including Lamar.
On 22nd August, the police confiscate the 400 horses. Many are in a pitiable condition and every day, more animals die. Our team and local NGOs try to save the dying horses and bring food and water for the surviving ones. The Ezeiza case receives lots of media coverage and becomes famous as “campo del horror” (field of horror). Many horse owners come and want to check if their stolen horses are there, but the authorities prohibit them access to the premises. Later, several horses will be identified by their owners.
We will inform the EU Commission about these cases, which show a complete lack of traceability and severe animal cruelty, and we will continue to follow them closely.
