Owner calls for greater fly-grazing awareness after mare dies
A horse owner is calling for more public awareness of fly-grazing after a dumped mare was put down earlier this week.
The mare was one of a group of horses being fly-grazed on land near Bracknell, Berkshire.
“A mare sadly had to be put to sleep on veterinary advice and with a vet present yesterday (Monday, 23 March). Initial diagnoses suggest that she was suffering from colic,” an RSPCA spokesman told H&H.
“The situation regarding the three remaining horses is not ideal, but they are not suffering and the RSPCA is working hard to safeguard their welfare. People should rest assured that this work is very much ongoing.”
A shocked reader, who saw the dead horse, contacted H&H.
“We need to show that this is still happening, shame the owners who are doing this, and make people step up and serve notice on these ‘owners’ and not ignore it,” she said.
A spokesman for the RSPCA added: “The RSPCA completely sympathises and agrees with the frustrations expressed about these horses.
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“Sadly this is emblematic of the wider horse crisis and some owners who still refuse to obey the law and fail to microchip and passport and provide the proper care for their animals. We hope that the new legislation will help to prevent situations like this from occurring in future once it becomes law later this year.”
Thanks to the new fly-grazing bill, which passed through Parliament last week (18 March), private and public landowners will soon have greater powers to tackle dumped horses.
There are estimated to be around 3,000 fly-grazed horses in England.
The updated law will require landowners to keep any horses placed on their land for only four working days, as opposed to the current two weeks, and will allow more options to dispose of the horses besides public sale, such as gifting them to a charity, selling them privately or euthanasia.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.