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DUANE BOURNEDeputies say the animals either were victims of cruelty or part of a religious practice.
SPRING HILL - Was it a religious ritual or cruelty to animals?
Authorities are investigating what happened to four animals, including a pig, a chicken and other birds, that were found decapitated in a crate in Spring Hill on Tuesday.
The Sheriff's Office has classified the incident as animal cruelty, but sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez said Wednesday that the animals could have been sacrificed as part of a religious ritual, such as voodoo or Santeria.
"We are looking into it as an animal cruelty act," he said. "Of course, we are aware of some religious rituals and other types of activities where animals are mistreated in this fashion."
According to a sheriff's report, the crate could have been abandoned sometime between 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Monday, after a resident who lives on Tanner Road, near Killian Street, heard a car idling loudly outside her home.
However, the crate was not discovered until 6 p.m. Tuesday when another resident's dog pounced on the box as it lay in the grass near Tanner Road and Killian Street. The box was made of small, thin wooden planks secured with metal wires.
A beheaded black and white pig was placed lengthwise in the box next to a plastic shopping bag, coconuts and several pennies. A chicken and two pigeons - one white, the other gray, all headless - were also found in the box. One pigeon had a red identification band around its leg. The animals were drained of their blood, according to the report.
Paez said that if officials identify a suspect, they would have to look at the circumstances to determine whether to charge that individual with a third-degree felony.
"It's pretty clear that it was animal cruelty," he said. "But if someone claims that it is a religious practice like Santeria, then it would be something that we would have to review with the State Attorney's Office."
- Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114. Send e-mail to dbourne@sptimes.com