Police review horse death

2008-12-10 12:03

San Francisco - A man died of internal injuries from sex with a stallion at a ranch used by a bestiality ring, police in the northwestern United States state of Washington said on Monday.

The man suffered fatal trauma while being sodomised by a stallion at a stud farm that catered to men who wanted sex with animals, Enumclaw Police Commander Eric Sortland told AFP.

"From the medical examiner's office to the sheriff to the police detectives, we have never seen anything remotely close to what we have in the past two weeks," Sortland said.

The shocking events at the ranch were exposed after a man's body was dropped off at a hospital southeast of the city of Seattle on July 2 after his encounter with the horse.

"Basically, his colon was ruptured, along with his lower organs in that region, and he bled out," Sortland said.

A cache of hundreds of hours of videotaped man-on-beast sex sessions was found hidden in a field, Sortland said.

The animals kept at the farm included ponies, horses, goats, sheep and dogs, according to the police commander.

Images of the flock of offerings on the bestial dude ranch were relayed over the internet and records indicate men had come from throughout the United States, according to police.

"Unfortunately, these people were very diligent in filming their activities," Sortland said of a viewing task detectives have found unpleasant.

Police were still reviewing the recordings to determine the range of activities, according to the commander.

Because sex with animals is not barred by law in Washington state, no arrests have been made, according to police who nonetheless continued to investigate on Monday to determine whether any illegal activity had taken place at the ranch.

The case is being used by state legislators backing a bill that would make it illegal to have sex with beasts, Sortland said.

- AFP