Police investigate fatal shooting of horse in B.C. Interior, appeal for tips

The Salmon Arm RCMP detachment in B.C.’s Southern Interior is reaching out to the public in the hopes of finding the person(s) responsible for shooting and killing a horse.

On Oct. 9, Staff Sgt. Scott West said Mounties were called to a property in the 800 block of Grandview Bench Road regarding a report that a firearm had been used to kill the animal.

Carly Marchand said her friend, the horse’s owner, found the mare dead when she arrived at the Grandview Bench Road property where she was keeping her horse on Oct. 9.

Marchand said the horse, a mare named Goldie was found only about 40 or 50 feet from the barn.

The loss of the horse, and the violent manner in which she died, is a blow to the owner and horse lovers in the area.

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“I’m going to try not to cry myself,” said Marchand during an interview about the case.

“There is a very personal relationship with horses that you have and the lady that lost her horse has been a horsewoman for decades. To lose a horse that you’ve been best friends with for that long is pretty devastating.”

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Goldie was around 30-years-old and had been with the same owner for more than a decade.

Marchand and the horse’s owner aren’t sure if the shooting was an accident or a targeted incident, but either way, they are hoping someone will come forward with information about who fired the shot.

“The area that it happened in is populated with homes and families,” said Marchand.

“This is something that needs to get out it can’t happen again, of course, and to find out any information that we can to make sure that the person is held accountable.”

We are working closely with the BC SPCA in the investigation but need public assistance to help advance it, West said in a statement issued on Oct. 21.

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If you were in the 800-block of Grandview Bench Road between 11 a.m. on Oct. 8 and 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 and/or have any information which may help with this investigation, we are asking you to call us.

The Salmon Arm RCMP detachment can be reached at 250-832-6044.

The BC SPCA said its animal protection department is investigating the complaint, but it’s too early to issue a comment.

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