The horse found dead in the Cherryorchard area last Thursday.

FOLLOWING A recent spate of appalling horse deaths in Enniscorthy, another was found in a harrowing state on Thursday morning.

South East Animal Rescue shared the above image on their Facebook page, which depicts a young horse after it suffered from unimaginable cruelty in the Cherryorchard area.

According to the organisation, the animal was put to sleep after writhing in agony for many hours. Two other horses had also been in the area but were promptly taken away.

Comments posted on the picture illustrated an even more gruesome account of suffering, with one saying that the horse had been lying on the ground having a fit with nobody attempting to help it. “Within the hour he was dead,” the user said. “There were three horses left in that field without water or food for the past two weeks and the weather conditions didn’t help them either.”

Anger and upset poured out in other comments, with people posting “Sickening, I hope the ‘people’ that did this suffer as much as the poor animal” and “Just across from our estate and saw this today – absolutely heartbreaking to see and very disturbing when you see it up close. Those people should be locked up; those poor horses suffer the worst kind of cruelty. Makes you sick!”

South East Animal Rescue urged everyone to get involved in making a difference about the levels of animal cruelty, in particular to horses.

“This is cruelty and it is happening EVERY DAY. The laws are not there to protect these innocent animals but WE have a voice,” the organisation posted, “Lets ALL try help them. Contact our local politicians, the more people that do the better.”

The latest grisly death comes after a number of reports by The Echo in recent weeks where abandoned horses were found starved to death by the Wexford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.