Stray and abandoned horses create headache for councils

Local authorities are battling to deal with hundreds of stray and abandoned horses on their lands, with one council putting down 250 animals last year.

With numerous investigations continuing into the horsemeat scandal and how equine DNA entered the meat supply chain, Dublin City Council has revealed that last year it seized 254 horses, with all but four being put down.

The cost of the Horse Seizure and Pound Service last year — recouped by the local authority from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine — was €182,997.