A shocking food scandal in Turkey has sparked outrage after a retired racehorse was reportedly slaughtered and unknowingly served to diners at a government-run soup kitchen.
The horse, a four-year-old thoroughbred named Smart Latch, had once been a winning racehorse before suffering a career-ending injury. Her owner says she was supposed to be donated to a riding club after retiring from racing. Instead, investigators say she somehow ended up in a pot of stew served to the public.
The disturbing discovery came when a man eating at a municipal soup kitchen in the Yenisehir district of Mersin last month noticed something unusual in his meal. While eating kavurma — a traditional Turkish fried meat dish — he reportedly found a small object mixed in with the meat.
Authorities were alerted, and investigators from Turkey’s agriculture ministry later confirmed the object was a microchip used to identify animals. Testing revealed the chip belonged to Smart Latch.
Further examination of the food confirmed the dish contained horse meat.
Officials immediately destroyed more than 200 kilograms — about 470 pounds — of kavurma prepared at the soup kitchen over two days after the discovery.
The revelation has triggered widespread anger because slaughtering horses for meat is illegal in Turkey, especially when it involves registered racehorses, which are typically protected or rehomed after retirement.
Smart Latch had been a successful competitor during her short racing career, winning three races and earning about 1.1 million Turkish lira — roughly $34,000 — in prize money. Her final race took place in October, when she broke her leg and was forced to retire.
Her owner, Suat Topcu, says he had arranged for the horse to be donated to a riding club and had hired a transporter to deliver her there.
“I am devastated,” Topcu told local reporters. “The fine is not important. What matters is finding the people responsible for this cruelty.”
Authorities later fined Topcu about 132,000 Turkish lira — roughly $4,000 — for failing to properly file paperwork documenting the horse’s transfer.
Investigators now believe Smart Latch may never have reached the riding club at all. Instead, they suspect the horse was illegally slaughtered, and the meat was falsely labeled as beef before being sold to a company that supplies food to the city’s soup kitchen program.
The municipality has defended itself, saying the meat it purchased was supplied through official channels and met regulatory requirements at the time.
Meanwhile, the Mersin Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry is continuing to investigate how the champion racehorse ended up being processed and served to unsuspecting diners.
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