Five horses have been shot dead on land next to a roundabout in Beja which gives access to the IP2 road to the Algarve.
The owner of the horses has been identified and the police have started an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances in which the killing occurred.
The Beja GNR said the alert was given at around 8.30am by a citizen who called the police station.
When the GNR arrived on the scene they found the animals had all been shot and were lying in the field near to the road, quite dead.
The police reckon that the killing of the animals was intentional, (sic) but the reasons are still unknown.
As a firearm was used the case was reported to the Policia Judicial. The carcasses of the animals have been collected for later disposal.
