More than 500 dead horses found at NSW property

Hundreds of dead horses have been found at a property in NSW. Photo / 123RF

More than 500 horses have been found dead at a property in the NSW Riverina region.

Wagga Wagga City Council, supported by police, investigated reports horses had been butchered at the property and their carcasses left in a dry creek bed.

The council inspected the property and said it became clear the horse slaughtering had been occurring for a long time.

Carcasses were found throughout the property, totalling more than 500 dead horses.

Some were no more than skeletal remains while others had been killed recently.

“A lot of agencies came together to co-operate on ensuring that people who do an extraordinarily wrong thing have been identified and held to account,” Wagga City Council general manager Peter Thompson told reporters on Wednesday.

Thompson said the owner of the property would not face any repercussions from the council as it was out of their power.

The council began an investigation two months ago, after a tip-off by an anonymous informant led them to confirming and discovering the carcasses.

Elected councillors were only made aware of the grim discovery during an operational meeting on Monday.