6 more horses found shot to death in Kentucky, bringing total to 21

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. - Six more horses were found fatally shot near a strip mine site in Kentucky — bringing the total number of deaths to at least 21, authorities said. 

Animal rescue group Dumas Rescue said the six horses appear to have been killed during the same shooting that killed at least 15 other horses along U.S. 23 near the Floyd-Pike County line in the eastern part of the state, WYMT-TV reported.

Dumas Rescue said the six horses were discovered Sunday. The other horses bodies were found early last week. 

Tonya Conn with Dumas Rescue has said that the dead horses were scattered over a large area and it appears they were hunted.

A file image dated Aug. 5, 2019 shows horses at sunset on the pasture of a riding stable. (Photo by Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A $20,000 reward was being offered for information on the shootings, according to the station. 

Authorities have said some of the slain horses were young and some were pregnant.

“This is very inhumane and it's a very cruel act of somebody who just apparently had nothing else to do or whatever just to go back on a strip job and shoot down horses who were, one of them obviously was feeding, had grass in its mouth,” Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said. “It looked like a battlefield for just horses.”

The person responsible could face animal cruelty charges at a minimum.

RELATED: At least 15 Kentucky horses found shot to death at strip mine site, authorities say

This story was reported from Cincinnati. The Associated Press contributed.