Killers on the Moor

If you're familiar with the books of Center for Fortean Zoology Director Jon Downes (and, if you aren't, you really should be!), you'll know that in a number of his books, Jon references a disturbing series of animal mutilations (specifically of ponies) that occurred on the mysterious wilds of Dartmoor, England in 1977.

And, it's a case that I touch upon too, in my latest book, The Real Men in Black. The reason: a weird spate of telephone interference (a classic facet of MIB phenomena) that hit certain players in the saga.

Well, I'm very pleased to say that a new book has just surfaced that addresses this very case, as well as the wider, worldwide animal mutilation puzzle.

Published by Book Guild Ltd, its title is Killers on the Moor: The Case of the Dartmoor Ponies and Beyond and is written by a guy named Mike Freebury, who - in one of those synchronistic events - happens to hail from my home-town of Walsall, England. And, it's a big book too: it's a hardcover production running at 400-pages.

As soon as I've read the book, I'll be reviewing it right here.

Here's the Amazon link to the book, and here's the description from the publisher:

"On Easter Monday 1977, a man and his family were enjoying a walk on Dartmoor in south-west England. As they approached a small remote valley below White Tor they were horrified to come upon the twisted bodies of four Dartmoor ponies. The ponies' necks and backs appeared to have been broken in what must have been a very violent attack.

"Worse was to come, when more dead ponies were found only a hundred yards away. In total fifteen animals were found dead and mutilated. The police and the RSPCA were called in, but despite detailed investigations were unable to give convincing accounts of what might have happened to the animals.

"Mike Freebury became interested in the case due to press coverage in 2000. He was to discover that horrific unexplained animal deaths and mutilations have been occurring all over the world for many years. As he became more fascinated by the phenomenon, and began to investigate incidents for himself, he somewhat reluctantly came to a startling conclusion. The mutilations appear to be a sampling programme by an extraterrestrial intelligence, and evidence is being systematically covered up and denied by government departments worldwide.

"Mike Freebury was born and brought up near Birmingham. He has enjoyed a career in advertising, construction and then manufacturing and is now finance manager for one of the oldest firms in the West Midlands.

"Mike is currently operations director of the Animal Pathology Field Unit (APFU), investigating animal mutilation cases throughout the UK and abroad. Mike and his wife Jill still live in Walsall, West Midlands and have two grown-up daughters."

UPDATE! Jon Downes gives his views on the book. And, given that Jon is someone who took a deep interest in the affair, as well as the players in the saga, his words are important...