#Venezuelans outraged by slaughter of beloved racehorse for food

The grisly slaughter of a beloved racehorse is shining a light on just how desperate Venezuelans have become to feed themselves in a downturn worse than the Great Depression.

Ocean Bay, who snatched two of Venezuela’s three Triple Crown races in 2016, was stolen and butchered this week, sparking outrage that spread like wildfire across the country, The Associated Press reported.

“What a disgrace,” Ramón García, the stallion’s longtime trainer, tweeted. “This isn’t the Venezuela that I grew up in.”

Farmers and veterinarians have reported dozens of horses slaughtered over the past few years as the financial crisis in Venezuela has deepened. A UN World Food Program study earlier this year found one in three Venezuelans is going hungry.

The death of Ocean Bay hit particularly hard though, because of his fame and striking looks — a shining coffee-colored coat with an elegant white diamond-shaped streak on his face.

“This is painful for all of us,” Susana Raffalli, a nutrition expert who consults for relief agency Caritas Venezuela, wrote on social media.

Ocean Bay went missing Monday from a farm in Tocorón, an area about 82 miles south-west of Caracas. The discovery created a panic: Just three months before, seven other purebreds, including Ocean Bay’s mother, had been stolen and slaughtered.

Police and Venezuela’s chief prosecutor’s office are investigating the crime.

García is so distraught that he can’t bring himself to look at pictures of Ocean Bay posted on social media.

“He had a lot of heart,” he said. “He always wanted to be ahead of the others.”