More than 500 horse carcasses found at NSW property

More than 500 horse carcasses have been found near a property in the New South Wales Riverina region.

Wagga Wagga City Council and NSW Police are investigating reports the horses had been butchered and their carcasses were left in a dry creek bed.

"Once the inspection of the property commenced it became clear that the slaughtering of horses had been occurring for a long period of time," a council spokesperson said.

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"Numerous separate dumps of carcasses were discovered at locations throughout the property.

"It is estimated that there are in excess of 500 horse carcasses.

"Some of these carcasses were no more than skeletal remains while others were killed relatively recently."

Once the extent of the operation had been identified NSW Police and other state government agencies began collecting evidence for possible offences and regulatory actions under a range of NSW State Government legislation.