SHOCKING IMAGES: Dead horse '˜fly-tipped' in rubbish dump

Police and RSPCA were called after the foal was found callously abandoned on a rubbish heap in Shirebrook, close to where other horses are grazing.

Dog-walkers discovered the fly-tipping site last night (Tuesday, November 22), and were shocked when they saw the horse was still alive, and appeared to have a broken neck.

An RSPCA investigator attended this afternoon to follow-up on the call, and the horse is believed to have died in the night.

Local landowner Tony Perrin told of his disgust after police called him to the scene to see if he could assist.

He said: “It was awful – when I arrived it was still alive. This is the second time this has happened down here.

“How can they get away with doing that? I think they’re evil. For it so suffer like that, they’ve clearly tried to kill it by breaking its neck and then just dumped it there.

“Somebody somewhere has had a job done on their bathroom and it’s been a case of ‘give us twenty quid and we’ll get rid of that for you madam’, and at the same time they’ve dumped that poor horse.”

There were also reports of a pregnant filly dumped in Shirebrook on October 18.

Jason Downs, 43, a dad and security officer was the first on the scene in Meadow Lane, near the Sports Direct campus last night (Tuesday, November 11).

He said: “The dog started barking at something and as we approached it started thrashing about in the water. I reported it to police.

“That poor horse. I hope whoever did it prosecuted.”

A Bolsover District Council Worker came to the site collecting fly-tipped waste in the area, but hadn’t seen the horse as he approached.

He said: “It’s awful - the same areas are being fly-tipped again and again on a daily basis.”
When he saw the horse, he was shocked. “I’ve come across horses before but I’ve never seen one in amongst the rubbish like that.

“It’s tragic to see that someone could dump an animal amongst all this.

The council said it had sent a member of their street scene team to remove the rubbish and the horse, before sending the horse for rendering.

Police confirmed they were called at 8.30 last night (Tuesday, November 22) with reports of a live horse dumped at a roadside.

Derbyshire Constabulary’s wildlife crime co-ordinator said the case was passed on to the RSPCA to investigate under the Animal Welfare Act and it would up to them to request further help from officers.

Fly-tipping is a civil matter and dealt with by local authorities. Anyone with information about the fly-tipping or the horse can call Bolsover District Council on 01246 242 424.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “We were contacted on Tuesday night (November 22) by Derbyshire police who’d received reports of an injured horse dumped in Meadow Lane, Shirebrook.

“As our nearest available officer was 80 miles away dealing with an emergency, we requested that police send officers to the scene and, as well as giving advice over the phone, also urged them to contact a vet to attend to the horse urgently.

“Sadly, the officers later informed us that the colt - which we believe had suffered from a broken neck - died of his injuries before a vet could attend.

“The body was left at the site overnight and an RSPCA officer attended the following day to investigate the circumstances in which he was dumped at the scene. The local council arranged for the removal of the body.

“We would like to hear from anyone who may know where this horse came from or who may have seen anything suspicious in the area to contact us on our appeal line: 0300 123 8018.”