Outrage over neglected horse
A horse found severely malnourished and neglected was rescued on Sunday following a social media post that sparked an animal welfare intervention.
The Ecologists Party said the intervention followed a post showing a horse in poor condition, prompting members of its Animal Action Group to visit the site after contacting the local police station.
It said on Monday the horse was transported to a safe location escorted by police and the community leader, where it was set to be examined by a vet and given medication.
Police are continuing to investigate the case under animal welfare legislation.
The Animal Action Group coordinator Anthi Mouzouri said a suitable space was secured for the horse in Lythrodontas village.
Equestrian Angelina Mahtaney, who owns a horse sourcing company and is involved in the case, said the animal is a chestnut mare that had been kept in a stable in Mathiatis.
She said the rescue required a collective effort from the local equestrian community, noting that people whose horses are kept at the stable where the mare is now housed helped facilitate the intervention.
The horse “probably hasn’t eaten properly in six months. She is skin and bones. It looks like she hasn’t drunk proper water in weeks,” Mahtaney said.
She suggested the horse had been left to die. “This is very common with dogs, especially hunting dogs, but I’ve never seen a case like this with a horse,” she added.
“This is not what a horse should look like at all”.
She said the recovery would be lengthy – at least six months – and costly, as the horse requires extensive medication, but noted it was positive that the animal is now standing.
Calling the case “pure animal abuse,” Mahtaney criticised what she described as a lack of immediate response from authorities.
“People on Facebook said that they called the animal police, and they did nothing. They didn’t come. They didn’t answer the phone. They could not care less,” she said.
She added that there is growing frustration within the equestrian community.
“A lot of people in the equestrian world here are very disappointed with the government process, where they don’t care for agriculture and the equine sector, despite the number of abuse cases. And this is one of the worst.
“I’ve never seen a case like this in Cyprus where this is allowed to go on. You see dogs that are malnourished and action is taken, but when it comes to horses, apparently it’s nothing,” she said.