Horse’s Throat Slashed in Ongar

Ongar Village: Click image to see the newspaper article about the Horse

Councillor David McGuinness expresses horror at the news that a Horse in Ongar had its Throat slashed with a knife. The lands between Clonsilla and Ongar, where this incident happened, hada herd of horses grazing for a number of months now. Residents in the Ongar region contacted David to see how these animals could be removed as they felt the animals were not receiving proper care, that loose horses were defecating on the public footpaths and people were riding the horses through their housing estates.

Councillor McGuinness made a number representations to Fingal County Council and to the owners of the land, Menolly Homes, to ascertain what can be done to resolve this situation. This latest development is a very sorry addition to this story and is a cruel reminder of what people are capable of doing to defenceless animals. Although residents in the area are in favour of having these animals removed, I think I can speak for everyone in deploring this act of cruelty and urge the appropriate authorities to conduct an investigation into this incident.

This is a reply from Fingal County Council in relation to an earlier query about the well being of horses in the county of Fingal as enforced and promoted by Fingal County Council:

Dear Councillor
 
I refer to your letter dated 29th March 2010 with representations on behalf of  ‘Your Constituent’ regarding abandoned horses.   
 
The Council has been liaising with the DSPCA and a number of horse owners with regard to the mistreatment of horses specifically on the old Dunsink Landfill. Agreement has been reached that the Councils Veterinary Officer will examine the animals on the site and those which are in very poor condition will be removed and put down.  It is intended that the remaining horses will be tagged and options for their future will be discussed with their owners including the possibility of identifying an area within the site where they could be kept.  While these discussions have commenced and are ongoing, the Council has had to remove a number of dead horses from the site for disposal.
 
The Council is actively the DSPCA on this matter and we are continuing our efforts to engage with the relevant horse owners to find a satisfactory solution to the matter.
 
Yours sincerely
 
PJ Howell
Director of Services