7,618 horses killed for meat in Ireland

More than 7,500 horses were slaughtered in Ireland last year and sold as meat to householders, mainly on continental Europe.

While Ireland and England are horrified at the thought of eating horses, 1bn people do so all over the world.

Some 6,033 horses were slaughtered for meat in 2015, so last year’s figure is a 25% increase. However, at the height of the recession, in 2011, 24,000 unwanted horses were slaughtered for meat here.