Deputies: Salt River wild horse shot and killed

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is now confirming that one of the free-roaming horses near the Salt River was shot and killed.

The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, local horse advocates, released a statement Sunday night saying one of the horses was found dead last Thursday morning of an apparent shooting, but the Sheriff's Office said there was no evidence that the horse was intentionally killed.

An updated statement from the Sheriff's Office on Friday said a veterinarian was contracted to examine the horse's carcass after a number of photos and public tips were received. It was ultimately determined that the horse was shot by a small-caliber weapon, the Sheriff's Office said. No projectile was found.

The investigation has been turned over to the sheriff's animal crimes unit.

The horse, called Dotty by local observers, was part of the herd thrust into the limelight this summer when the U.S. Forest Service announced plans to round up and remove the nearly 100 horses near the Salt River. The horses are considered stray, not wild, by the Forest Service.

The round-up plans were halted in August after outcry from residents and politicians.

Simone Netherlands, president of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, said the shooting could have been an attempted "mercy killing" by someone who thought the horse was injured.

"The shots were in the head, so that could be both: It could either be someone who tried to get her out of her misery quickly or someone who was doing a cruel thing from farther away," Netherlands said.

Regardless, an individual outside the Forest Service or the Sheriff's Office should not take it upon themselves to perform a mercy killing, Netherlands said.

Deputy Joaquin Enriquez, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said there is no evidence that the shooting was malicious.

The Sheriff's Office encourages anyone with information about the shooting to call 602-876-1636 or 602-876-1011.

Netherlands said she hopes someone will come forward and help her group and deputies determine what really happened to Dotty.

"Someone did see what happened," Netherlands said. "I'm sure there was someone around."

She noted that if the Salt River horses were considered "wild" under a 1971 federal act that provides protection to wild horses, the horse's death would have been investigated much faster. Salt River Wild Horse Management Group is in the middle of a lawsuit to secure protection for the horses.

"If they were (considered wild), they'd be protected (from) harassment and death," she said.