Dumped horses spark safety fears

Animal welfare campaigners have warned of a growing problem of horses being abandoned on public and private property and left to fend for themselves.

The comments from the ISPCA (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) came as horses were removed from a site near Doneraile in north Co Cork owned by Cork County Council. The body of one dead horse was taken away and the remains of another are due to be removed today. It is understood one of the dead horses had lain in water on the site for a number of weeks.

The local authority-owned site at Ballydineen also had a scattering of bones belonging to other horses that have died there in recent times. Last week a spokesman for Cork County Council said the local authority was aware of one dead horse on site, but not the scattering of bones and skulls of dead horses, and these have since been removed.