Dozens of horses were left to die of cold and hunger high in the Osogovo Mountain. A campaign of environmentalists was held on Sunday. A whole herd of animals has been abandoned by their owner at random over the past few months.

The horses were blocked by the snow and there was nothing to eat at all. They are owned by businessman Petar Pishtalov from Kyustendil, NOVA reports.

Environmentalists say, "I have never seen such a thing and I am mildly shocked by what I saw. The helpless horses, lying in the snow with its dying eyes, was just a terrible picture.

Animals that are still live are about 30 in number but in very bad condition. 

Their condition is extremely severe, even critical. There are young horses about 1 year old. Both young and old are very hungry. They have not eaten in a long time. They have no water, food, and shelter. They literally stand in the snow and have no way to move. "

At yesterday's rescue, people climbed at about 1800 meters in height to save the horses. The animals did not have the strength to walk, so their food was left in place in order to survive for a few more days. People say the animals barely had the strength to chew the food they brought.

The owner of the horses said that every autumn he gathers them to move them and this happens for the first time.

"I personally got the horses into the transhipment. The first day my people did not work. The second day they did not work. Then I had inspections and there was no way for me to go. On the third day, when I went, the horses were gone, "the man said.

Then the hunt began for more than a month. He has about 70 horses through funding program. "I found part of the horses. They were sick horses and with injuries. Lone horses had been separated. The lone ones we found and took them, "he said.

The businessman says he is taking funding from a program - 140 euros per horse. He said he would today board a sleigh and take other people on horses to see his animals. "I have taken some medicines with me. I have not seen them, I do not know what happened. Plus they are my animals. I have to be with my animals, "he said.

Meanwhile, the Kyustendil District Prosecutor's Office has appealed the herd abandoned by the owner in the Beck Bunar area, Osogovo Mountain. An urgent inspection has been assigned to the police and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency for possible cruelty to animals from which their death has occurred. It is also subject to verification that the flock has been reared with funds allocated under EU programs.