Tragically, horses are often killed illegally for black market meat production. In fact, this gruesome crime has been on the rise in the United States, especially in South Florida.

Before animal abusers can be prosecuted, proof has to be gathered. The time since death, aka the postmortem interval, can be a powerful piece of evidence. But contrary to popular belief, determining the postmortem interval is tough. In fact, no method is available to even estimate the time since death in horses.

Researchers at the University of Florida are hoping to change that by finding new and accurate ways of evaluating the decay of tissue building blocks in horses, like genes or DNA-related material.

As crimes against animals are increasing in the United States and around the world, veterinary forensic investigators are working hard to collar abusers.