From staff and wire reports

BARRE - Police say a 20-year-old man has been accused of using a bow and arrow to shoot and kill a horse.

Authorities say the 23-year-old mare, Bunny, was fatally shot earlier this month in Barre. Searchers discovered part of an arrow lying in the pasture. Another piece was found in the horse’s stomach. Police say the bow and arrow were reported stolen from the owner’s car.

Police say Quinton Clayton was charged Thursday with aggravated cruelty to animals and unlawful mischief. Police said he was wanted on an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on unrelated charges.

It wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer, and a phone number couldn’t be found for him.

"It's rare that people actually get caught for something like this," Brooke Rossi, a spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal's, said when told of the arrest.

It's unknown if anyone has collected the reward which was offered for capture of the killer offered by Bunny's owner Regan Howard.

Barre police responded to a call Oct. 5 to Prospect Street and gathered evidence that police said showed a person or people had intentionally shot and killed a quarter horse named Bunny with an arrow.

“I know hunters. This was not a hunter,” Howard told the Burlington Free Press after the horse was found dead. She said her family has an excellent relationship with the local hunting community. Her family often allows hunters on their 150 shared acres.

“She was brutally slain,” Howard said of the 23-year-old mare. Howard purchased the horse for her daughter to ride 15 years ago. She described the horse as a gentle fixture at Cedar Ridge Farm, Inc., who taught many kids how to ride and care for horses.

“I’ve gone a lot of miles on that nice little mare,” Howard said. She described her family as heartbroken. She said Bunny’s pasture mate, a horse named Tommy, is looking for Bunny every time a trailer rolls by. “He keeps whinnying, expecting her to come home.”

This story was first posted online on Oct. 27, 2016, and has been updated.