Smith rejects calls for slaughter scheme for unwanted horses

AGRICULTURE Minister Brendan Smith has shot down calls for a Government subsidised slaughter scheme for unwanted horses.

However, he said he plans to introduce compulsory registration of premises for keeping horses.

The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) warned last August that 1,000 horses would starve to death in Ireland this winter due to the credit crunch, and called on the Government, Horse Racing Ireland and other equestrian bodies to ban horse breeding. The DSPCA had to euthanise 31 horses in the first seven months of 2009.