A dead foal has been found “dumped like rubbish” at the side of a busy road.
A member of public discovered the filly alongside piles of tree bark which had also been dumped on land off the A500 Alsager Road in Audley, near Stoke-on-Trent on Thursday (10 January).
RSPCA inspector Charlotte Melvin who attended said the foal, thought to be five to six months old, looked in “poor bodily condition and was emaciated”.
The foal is thought to have been dead when she was left as there was no “scratch marks on the ground to suggest she had been struggling”.
Inspector Melvin contacted the landowner, Robert Elliot ofof Eardley End Road, Bignall End, who was “shocked” when he saw the foal.
Mr Elliot said: “It is awful that someone would just dump an animal like this and it looked in poor condition.
“It isn’t the first time this has happened though, a couple of years back another young horse was dumped on our land and we often get problems with fly-tipping around the area.”
Inspector Melvin said: “It is so sad to see such a young animal discarded like rubbish in this way – she was also clearly not looked after well before she was dumped as she was so thin. I would like to hear from anyone who may know who the foal belonged to.”
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The inspector believes the foal had been there for a “few days”.
The RSPCA’s inspectorate national equine co-ordinator Christine McNeil added: “Up and down England and Wales, horses are being found sick, dying or sometimes dead. It is frequently the case that they have been abandoned and left to die. This is upsettingly very common and it’s a massive issue – a very sad one at that.”
The RSPCA is appealing for anyone who with information to contact the charity’s appeals line on 0300 123 8018.
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