Judith Faherty

THE shocking discovery of seven dead horses and ponies on land on the outskirts of Galway city sparked off a major equine welfare operation this week.

Eight more animals were rescued from land at Briarhill, near Galway racecourse,but they were in such a weakened state that four of those died shortly afterwards, bringing the death toll to 11.

A co-ordinated rescue operation was mounted by Department of Agriculture officials and members of the Hungry Horse Outside equine rescue charity group, backed up by Gardai, on the 30-acre site.

In all, some 20 horses and ponies were on the site, all of whom were described as trotters and cobs. The majority were reported to be in a very poor and starving condition when found. A closer examination of the area led to the grim discovery of seven animal carcasses on the land.

This is the second time in three years that this parcel of land, located just 8kms from Galway city centre, has been at the centre of a serious equine welfare case. It is understood that the land was recently sold and that the horses and ponies were grazing the land prior to the sale. The charity is now in the process of trying to remove all of the animals from the area.

Speaking to The Irish Field, Hillary Robinson of Hungry Horse Outside said the animals were all in appalling condition.

“We took eight horses altogether over the last week. They were very weak and unfortunately four of them have now died. We found a lovely mare with her foal and a yearling who was still feeding from her and they all died during the week.”

None of the horses were microchipped, leaving the Department of Agriculture with no clear way of determining who owns the animals.

“We are working hard to determine who owns the land, we want them to come forward and that way we can plan to close it off and make sure no more horses are dumped there. Unfortunately there is no way of identifying or prosecuting any owners because the animals are not microchipped,” said Robinson.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Hungry Horse Outside charity appealed on social media for local help in catching the remaining feral horses in the field. Robinson said that the public have been very helpful but were unaware of the enormity of the problem.

“We got the help we needed on Wednesday from some locals but were unsuccessful in removing all the horses. We also had some opposition from other groups and the horses were very feral. The public need to realise that we are working with the Department on this operation – we are not removing the animals without permission,” Robinson continued.

Through the Department of Agriculture and local authorities, the charity is working to get equine welfare projects up and running in Co Galway to ensure that this problem does not recur next winter.

Under current law, every premises with horses must register with the Department and obtain an equine premises number while every horse should have a passport and microchip.

To support the charity’s work, go to www.hungryhorseoutside.com, email Hungryhorseoutside@gmail.com or contact Hillary Robinson on 086-3162449.