A man discovered five decapitated goats Wednesday morning as he was walking his dogs near Miami Shores.
Alan Klopman saw the dead animals in an empty lot in the 10800 block of Bayshore Drive.
At first, he said, he thought the animals were dogs.
"I was pretty mortified," Klopman said. "And then I looked and I saw they had hooves, saw that they were goats, but they were big goats and somebody chopped their heads off."
The decapitated goats were likely used as animal sacrifice during a Santeria ritual, which is a legal practice in the U.S. after the Supreme Court struck down a Hialeah ban on animal sacrifice used in religious ceremonies.
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Improper disposal of the animals' bodies, on the other hand, is against the law.
Klopman said this wasn't the first time dead animals had been found in the vacant lot.
"We've had bags of chickens with their heads cut off and small animals float in here before," he said.
In January, a decapitated goat and three chickens washed up behind a South Beach condominium.