Number of stray horses put down by council doubles

The number of horses put down by Cork County Council vets last year doubled compared to 2012. The local authority expects that it will have to euthanise many more in the next few years as owners continue to abandon them due to the recession.

In 2012, the local authority was forced to put down 66 horses, but the figure jumped to 136 last year, due to a number of factors.

Sharon Corcoran, the head of the local authority’s environmental directorate, which deals with stray horses, said it “was unfortunate” that the council was forced to put down so many of the animals.