greed is the heart-killer...

[lagilman]

All right, I'm making a wild assumption here, not any sort of judgement or legal evaluation. But there are certain things that scream 'arson' to me (and probably anyone with even a slightly suspicious mind) and this has all the markings.

Sometime around midnight last night, a fire started in, and ripped through, Peretti Farms.

For those of you not of an equine interest, Peretti Farms is the largest NJ breeder of Standardbreds, which are best known as the breed used for harness racing. They have half a dozen stallions of note, and a couple-hundred brood mares, and are always well-represented at the yearly auctions.

They're not Thoroughbreds, so they're not as 'sexy' or well-publicized, but Standardbreds are muscular, handsome beasts.

Twenty-four horses were reported killed in the fire. Twenty-four innocent animals, whose only crime may have been that they were heavily insured.


I hope I'm wrong. I pray I'm wrong. I'd rather have the owners be heartbroken than malicious. But I've a suspicious mind.

Comments

[going-not-gone.livejournal.com]

Some reassuring news here. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/brf_horse_farm_fire;_ylt=AnUaa7Tn_qHVJtJGpyzJGP6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--)


The fire at Perretti Farms apparently was caused when an electric line that keeps water in the wall-mounted troughs from freezing ignited a center stall about 1 a.m., State Police investigators said.

So it's still a horror, but doesn't seem to be deliberate cruelty.