Horse-ripping

Horse-ripping, or horse slashing, is an animal cruelty phenomenon involving serious injuries in horses, often involving mutilation of their genitalia and slashing of the flank or neck. It has not been established, however, how often these injuries are caused by human cruelty. 'Horse-ripping' is not an entirely neutral term since it implies there is always a human act behind the mutilations.

Incidents

There were 160 reported incidents in Britain between 1983 and 1993, and 300 incidents in Germany between 1992 and 1998. [Horsetalk, [http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/features/slashers.shtml Horse slashers profiled] , October 22, 1998]

It has become a widespread belief in recent years that these attacks are carried out deliberately by people, and generally sexually motivated. Animal welfare officers have also drawn links between attacks on horses and 'fertility cults'.Times Online, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1872308_1,00.html Horse slasher leaves stables in fear, ] , Ben Macintyre, November 15, 2005] At least one case initially believed to be horse-ripping was shown to have been caused by another horse [ [http://www.horsenaroundfarm.com/Article20.htm Arizona Horse Slashing Mystery Solved]
* [http://www.pimasheriff.org/MR/61704horseslash.htm Pima County Sheriff's Department] - press release on the same case.] .

Convictions are rare, though a man has been convicted in the Netherlands for a large number of such attacks on horses and ponies, along with the murder of a homeless person and the attempted murder of several other people. [ [http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?channel_id=3&story_id=25281 Expatica.com article on Dutch horse-ripper] ]

Horse-ripping, which is regarded as pathological, is distinguished from castration of male animals, which is regarded as a normal practice. In Great Wyrley during the Victorian period George Edalji was wrongly convictied of horse ripping. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series, defended Edalji.

Critique

Investigations have shown it doubtful whether all 'horse-ripping' incidents can be ascribed to human acts. For the similar cattle mutilation, primarily a US phenomenon, UFOs, cults and animal cruelty have been blamed, but research showed there were natural or indecisive causes in the vast majority of cases.

Media and the public often regard all incidents of horses being found injured as resulting from human acts, even if it has not been proven that the causes are non-natural. For this reason, skeptics would claim that the concept should partially be analysed by terms of mass psychology and might qualify as a moral panic phenonemon, similar to the over-exposure of paedophilia in recent years. However, it would be agreed that true cases of human-inflicted mutilation are a pathological or criminal phenonemon.

In literature

The short story "Romulus" (1883) by the Danish author Karl Gjellerup features cruelty to a noble race horse. The story was inspired by a contemporary case where the Royal Chamberlain was accused of animal cruelty. [ [http://base.kb.dk/adl_pub/fportraet/cv/FpPdf.xsql?nnoc=&ff_id=27 Knud B. Gjesing: "Karl Gjellerup", Archive for Danish Litterature] (in Danish)]

The play "Equus" from 1973 elaborates the psychology of a young horse mutilator. Based on the play, the film "Equus" was published in 1977.

See also

* Zoosadism
* Cattle mutilation
*Moral panic

External links

* Schedel-Stupperich A. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11963360&dopt=Abstract Criminal acts against horses--phenomenology and psychosocial construct] "Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr." 2002 Mar;109(3):116-9. "(in German)"

References