The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it fears for animal and human safety following the brutal killing of a young horse in west Dublin yesterday.
The two-year-old male pony bled to death after its throat was cut with a Stanley knife in what the DSPCA has described as one of the “most horrendous animal crimes” it has ever come across.
The attack took place in a field on private land, in Ongar near Clonsilla, in the early hours of yesterday morning. Witnesses contacted the DSPCA, but the animal was dead by the time an inspector reached the scene.
DSPCA education officer Miriam Kerins said research had shown that those who abused animals were frequently also abusing children or spouses.