MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Multiple animals were rescued Thursday from an illegal slaughter operation in Miami-Dade County, the South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced on Twitter.
SPCA officials said three cows, two horses and a calf were rescued from the property with the help of Miami-Dade Police Agricultural Patrol officers.
The property is located next to the Everglades Correctional Institution, just a few miles west of Krome Avenue.
Officials said a red steer was about to be butchered when authorities arrived.
"We walked to the back of the property. We could smell the rotting body parts long before you even saw it," Laurie Waggoner, of the South Florida SPCA, said. "There's cow skulls lying on the ground. There's a pile of hides and entrails and cow feet. The smell is awful."
According to SPCA officials, authorities have responded to the same property several years ago in reference to another illegal slaughterhouse operation.
It's unclear whether anyone has been taken into custody.
SPCA officials said the animals confiscated from the property are in bad shape, but will hopefully recover well.