Restaurants in South Florida are serving horse meat to unknowing customers as illegal horse meat sales are on the rise. Police officers are finding the slaughtered horse carcasses on the side of the road. At least 17 butchered horse carcasses have been found in Miami-Dade County this year.
Stable owners in Florida are increasing their security in fear that their horses will be taken and butchered. Surprisingly, selling and eating horse meat is legal in many states. In Florida, selling horse meat is only legal if it is "stamped, marked and described as horse meat for human consumption." It is illegal to steal the horses or slaughter them improperly.
Apparently there is an underground organization that sells horse meat and it's fairly lucrative. The meat sells for $10-$20 a pound depending on the cut. The price can be as high as $40 a pound when supply is short.
According to an interview in the USA Today with Richard Couto of the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "People are getting more brazen now. They're doing the carving right on the sides of streets."
Horse meat may not be common American fare, some Miami restaurants serve it because it is sweeter and less fatty. It is a delicacy in Central and South America. In fact, in Cuba, horse meat is more common than beef. The influx of Cubans in South Florida may be why this illegal horse butchering is on the rise.
Butchers in Miami have stolen frozen horse meat in their stores for trustworthy customers, according to Richard Couto. Sometimes the meat is sold in neighborhoods out of coolers.
Written by Cheryl Phillips
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