Police appeal to public after finding dead cob
The dead body of piebald cob has been found at the entrance to a field in the Derbyshire Dales.
Police discovered the pony covered in snow and released a video appealing for information.
The body was lying near the gate of a field on a road between Beeley Lane and Cyda Lane on Beeley Moor.
“We had reports that a black and white pony cob had been abandoned at the entrance near the gate of a field,” said a member of the Derbyshire rural crime team in the footage.
“The reason for the video is that we’re appealing for information. We believe the pony was dumped sometime overnight on Monday 4 December to the early afternoon of Tuesday 5 December.
“We’re appealing to you, the public, in case you’ve seen any suspicious people or suspicious vehicles to make contact with the team on 101 or contact us via Facebook with any information to help us to investigate this.”
Can you help the RCT with their appeal?A black and white pony has been left abandoned at a gateway to a field on a road between Beeley Lane and Cyda Lane on Beeley MoorWe believe that there may be animal welfare and cruelty offences that are linked to the death of the ponyWe believe the pony was abandoned sometime overnight on Monday 4th December to the early afternoon of Tuesday 5th DecemberWe are asking the public to contact us if they have any information or if they have seen any suspicious persons or vehicles at the location around the time the pony was abandoned.Posted by Derbyshire Rural Crime Team on Thursday, December 7, 2017
PC James Bowler told H&H the force had received the name of a possible suspect as a result of the appeal.
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“There haven’t been any witnesses so far to the dumping of the cob, but we are in the process of speaking with people that may have seen where the pony was from and developing intelligence to firm up the information that we have been provided with,” he said.
“We are wanting to work closely with the RSPCA on this one as clear welfare and animal cruelty offences have been identified.
“It is hoped that once we have done this we will be in a position to interview the suspect.”
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.