ISPCA challenged on horse fair cruelty

WHAT a sad reflection on the state of animal welfare in Ireland that protest at the abuse of animals at Ballinasloe Horse Fair recently should have been left largely to journalists and members of the public.

The incidents of cruelty and breaches of the law were apparent to anyone visiting the fair, as I did on October 3.

How, then, can the ISPCA, the very body charged with protecting animals, be publicly quoted as defending this medieval free-for-all?