have traditionally been repulsed by the thought of eating horse meat, making recent developments here especially puzzling, say professors, who suspect customers are buying horse meat at their local butcher thinking it is beef.

The faculty reports each case, but police have yet to arrest any suspects. The school's budget has been frozen for over a decade, leading security guards to walk off the job and leave the campus an open target, university officials said.

"It could be an inside job, or someone from outside," said Isis Vivas, dean of the veterinary school. "Anything is possible."

In this Oct 26, 2018 photo, Rafael Toro, a student at Venezuela's top veterinary school displays the hooves and the skull of a horse called Miss Congeniality on the ground, at the Central University ofVenezuela in Maracay, in Venezuela. AP

Toro, a lifelong animal lover who plans to graduate next year, believes Miss Congeniality was singled out from the small heard of five horses. She was four years old, plump and in the prime of life.

Amid the tragic loss, he safeguards her skull so future generations of students can continue to learn from her, such as gauging a horse's age by examining the teeth.

"We would have liked for her to stick around here with us and leave us her offspring," Toro said. "Sadly, this is not the case."