Cruelty to animals - Barbaric behaviour

The terrible plight of animals, especially horses, whose owners can no longer afford to, or care to, look after them has been well documented and provoked calls for intervention to end what is sometimes neglect bordering on cruelty.

The difficulties brought about by keeping animals, horses again, in unsuitable urban environments has caused concern too.

Three reports over recent days: Horses dumped from cliffs in Clare; a case in Limerick where a pony was so badly beaten it had to be destroyed; and the discovery of a dog in Cork with terrible injuries inflicted, it is believed, by people goading dogs before illegal dog fights, point to levels of barbarism hard to comprehend.