'Horrible things happened': Animal welfare activists protest at Dáil over alleged abuse of horses at abattoir

Charity My Lovely Horse protesting outside Leinster House on Tuesday afternoon. Pictures: Stephen Collins/Collins 

A protest has taken place at the Dáil over the treatment of horses at the country’s only equine slaughterhouse.

Up to 100 people joined the charity My Lovely Horse at Leinster House in Dublin on Tuesday following an expose by RTÉ Investigates last week.

The documentary was secretly filmed inside Shannonside Foods in Straffan, Co Kildare, where horses were being kept before being slaughtered.

The programme Horses — Making a Killing, was broadcast over two days and showed animals falling and being whipped before their deaths.

Organisers of the rally, Martina Kenny from My Lovely Horse and singer Cathy Davey, joined supporters at the Dáil.

Ms Kenny told the Irish Examiner they want “transparency” for all the horses that have gone through Shannonside Foods.

“The people of Ireland can never allow this to happen again” she said. “We want accountability and transparency, and this just cannot continue.

“I was surprised mostly that the Department of Agriculture said they were not allowed into Shannonside, and it was like saying, if you want to report a restaurant, you can’t go in and inspect it?

“Why are they not allowed in? When that happens, then you know there is a problem. We would also like to know where the horses that were in there and taken out of there recently are now."

A canine protestor at the rally.

The protesters want to be assured authorities are taking the welfare of such animals seriously, she said.

"Were there previous inspections? What is going on? Our message is about animal welfare. Those poor horses went to a place to be slaughtered and then to be tormented and abused is shocking.

“Horrible things happened and that is only what we saw”.

Protester Aisling Rice from Dublin, who rescues animals, said there were still questions to be answered.

“We are looking to know where the horses are that were in Shannonside, we have no answers, and these are major issues.

“We want accountability of the tracing of animals.

"When horses are no longer making money for the horse racing industry that makes millions, they are thrown to one side and that is not acceptable.

“We need there to be strong and robust laws in place”.

Up to 100 people joined the charity My Lovely Horse at Leinster House in Dublin on Tuesday.

A protest was also held outside the grounds of Shannonside Foods by My Lovely Horse volunteers and supporters on Saturday.

Ms Kenny said: "We had a protest there to remember the horses that passed through there. But now we want to know what has happened to the ones that were in there”.

Following the broadcasting of the RTÉ documentary, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue closed down the operations at the Shannonside Foods.

He said the business had effectively been put out of commission pending an investigation by his officials and gardaí into welfare abuses and illegal activity there.

The department said an investigation into activities involving the supply of equines for slaughter was in progress “arising from information” provided in recent weeks.