Animal Carcasses Found in New Tampa Are Likely Goats, Not Dogs

Editor's note: This article is an update of an earlier story.

Despite early reports of dogs, the 11 decapitated animal carcasses found behind a New Tampa pizzeria are likely goats, Hillsborough County Animal Services officials said during a press conference this afternoon.

“There is no medical evidence that we were looking at dogs or cats,” Veterinarian Dr. Isabelle Roese said. “The animals’ conditions appear to be consistent with preparation as a food source. ... There is no evidence we are looking at animal cruelty either."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies, who are working with Animal Services, are continuing to work this illegal dumping case that started Saturday afternoon after someone called authorities regarding deceased animals. Deputies retrieved the carcasses from a Dumpster in the rear of on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The animals were skinned and had their heads and feet removed, authorities said, making it difficult to determine what kind of animals they were at first.

Hillsborough County Animals Services, which responded and took possession of the carcasses, believes they are goats, however. A sample has been sent out to a lab for scientific confirmation, and the results should be available in seven to 10 days.

Sheriff’s deputies have the license plate of a leased truck whose occupants may have been responsible for the dumping of the carcasses. The truck is from Florida but outside of Hillsborough County.

Pam Perry, investigations manager for Animal Services, said the butchering of the carcasses was not done by an amateur. The animals seem to have been killed in a humane manner, too.

“It was very precise,” she said of the butchering, adding the animals were probably not used for a religious sacrifice. “With 11 bodies as opposed to one or two … it doesn’t lend itself to that type of situation, but we haven’t ruled it out.”

The carcasses all had blue twine on the right leg, and while some organs were removed, the heart, kidney and liver were retained – common practice when animals are prepared for consumption, authorities said.

The only crime so far appears to be illegal dumping, or Theft of Services for putting them in someone's else's Dumpster, according to a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. Still, Perry said, the action was disturbing.

"To put it in a Dumpster behind a public restaurant is horrible, not only for the reputation of that restaurant but also the patrons who go to that restaurant," Perry said. "These carcasses smell. It was a horrible stench."