Schoolchildren heard dying horse thrashing in distress
There’s been public outrage over the death of a horse on private land in Finisklin last week.
The horse was reportedly heard whinnying in distress on Monday morning, September 4 th. One parent who contacted The Sligo Champion said her daughter could hear the horse from her classroom in the nearby Ursuline College.
“The girls were very shocked, it was just shocking for everybody, She heard it in distress and she knew by listening to it that the horse was in distress. By lunchtime it was on the ground, it was kicking and thrashing, the ground was all cut up,” she said.
It’s thought the horse was on the private grounds (not belonging to the school) all summer, along with other horses which were moved just before the school re-opened but for whatever reason was left there by its owner.
The horse subsequently died later on Monday. Sligo County Council said the first notice they received about the horse was after it had died.
In a statement to this newspaper, the Council said they had “limited authority in these matters.”
“Our Veterinary Inspector attended the scene and contacted the owner of the lands requesting removal, which was done. The landowner informed him that the horse did not belong to him.
“The Council’s responsibilities relate mainly to stray and abandoned horses. The Council is referring details of this case to the Department’s Regional Superintendent Veterinary Inspector,” they concluded.