Calls for full transparency and clarity on ABC Council’s Animal Welfare policy have come in after a horse was found deceased in Gilford and residents say they had been contacting authorities for months.
A frustrated and heartbroken resident of the rural Co Down area contacted Armagh I the day after news broke that one horse had been found dead near Gilford Mill and another two, in incredibly poor condition, were rescued.
The man claims he first contacted the Council’s Animal Welfare department at the end of August with serious concerns for their welfare, stating they were “wasting away”.
To the best of his knowledge, the three equines first appeared on land at the front of the old mill in June.
At that time, he said they had some grass and a shuck for water. However, he described them as “thin” and said many members of the local area were feeding the animals carrots and other foods over the fence.
As time passed, he noticed the horses were beginning to show signs of deterioration and called Animal Welfare to raise the alarm.
He said he was assured at that time that efforts would be made to contact the owner and an investigation would be carried out.
He called again, twice, in September and says he was given the same message and informed that “a process had to be followed”.
Then on October 19 – just five days before one of the horses was found deceased – he called “begging” Council to remove them for their safety.
“I was begging them that day… ‘look these animals need out they aren’t going to last’,” he said. “From what I can see there was no action taken at all until that horse died. The horse even lay there from the Saturday until the following Tuesday until it was removed.”
He branded the apparent lack of action as “disgusting” and said the animal was left to decompose in the field in “plain view” of passersby.
Explaining what he witnessed over time, the man indicated that the horses were moved from the front of the Mill, where they had some food and access to drinking water, to the back of the Mill onto “waste ground that was largely concrete”, when infrastructural improvement works began in the town, carried out by the Department of Infrastructure.
While he is not pointing fingers at anyone for moving the horses, he does want to know who was responsible for the move.
“These horses were skin and bone… I knew they were going to die,” he continued. “I witnessed them eating bark off trees and leaves because they had no food, no water and no shelter.”
After speaking with other residents of the area, the man believes he wasn’t the only person to make a report. He know demands answers as to why the animals were not at least even temporarily removed for their wellbeing while investigations continued.
“The whole lot was really badly handled. I don’t think it’s good enough,” he said.
The incident follows just months on from the tragic death of two dogs in Lurgan.
The two dogs had been found at a flat in Lurgan in August of this year and were reported to have been kept in crates and had starved to death.
Speaking afterwards, a neighbour told The Nolan Show that he had begun raising concerns with both the PSNI and council from mid-March.
The tragic incident sparked public outcry with many citing “failures” by Council and relevant authorities to act when they had received numerous complaints.
A 47-year-old man was charged to court on cruelty offences and has since been released on bail pending further appearances.
Speaking back in August, ABC Council said it will “continue to co-operate” with police but will be making no further comment around concerns raised following the discovery of two dogs at a property in Lurgan.
At the same time, it said all reports received by animal welfare officers in relation to concerns raised in this case had been “responded to in line with council’s statutory responsibilities and enforcement policy”.
Armagh I have requested full transparency from Council’s Environmental Health Department in regards to their Animal Welfare policy and procedure and are awaiting response.
This publication has also submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in relation to the three horses seeking the number of reports made, the attendances made to the site and whether any veterinary attention was sought while the investigation was instigated.
Follow-ups will be published in due course.
