Charities club together to rescue 137 equines from Swansea sanctuary

More than 100 horses were removed from a sanctuary in Swansea following a rescue operation led by the RSPCA

The RSPCA, World Horse Welfare, Redwings, Bransby Horses, The British Horse Society, The Horse Trust, Blue Cross, The Donkey Sanctuary and the Mare and Foal Sanctuary all came together in a multi-agency rescue to take in a total of 137 equines from a sanctuary in Wales. The sanctuary owner pleaded guilty to four Animal Welfare Act offences relating to 22 horses in court this week and has been given a decade-long ban from owning horses.

Vets confirmed that all the equines were in very poor condition, with many suffering with open wounds and large worm burdens. Two of the horses rescued unfortunately had to be put down due to welfare problems shortly afterwards. The owner has admitted that her failure to address the horses’ poor condition or injury forced them to suffer unnecessarily.

RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben said: “Looking after this number of horses properly is a huge challenge and sadly when things went wrong, these horses suffered the consequences. Vets were clear that the conditions many of these horses were kept in was not appropriate with unsuitable grazing. Twenty-two animals suffered because they weren’t given the care they needed by this sanctuary.

“We’re so grateful to the other equine organisations who supported this partnership operation. It’s an incredible illustration of what we can achieve together for animal welfare. It was a huge undertaking and their assistance with boarding, transportation and administration has been invaluable in helping these equines in their hour of need. Thankfully, it has meant many of these horses will get a second chance of happiness.”

The Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s Chief Executive, Sarah Jane Williamson said: “The number of horses and ponies in need of crisis intervention continues to grow due to increasingly complex circumstances. Through collaboration between experienced equine welfare organisations who are members of The National Equine Welfare Council, we can achieve more for animal welfare together.”

For more information, visit rspca.org.uk