Battle to save the horses left to die

For more than 50 years stray horses in public fields and grassland has been a common sight across the Black Country.

Allowing horses to graze in public area may seem like a victimless crime, but council bosses and animal welfare charities claim these animals are not only a risk to themselves and the public, but have often been abandoned by owners, as they are too old or injured to be of any use to them.

The act of leaving horses to graze on someone else's land is known as fly-grazing. It is illegal and is an issue which has long plagued the area.

Sandwell councillor Ian Jones said many of the horses are owned by descendants of travellers living in the Black Country.

He said: "There have been cases of horses frozen to the spot quite literally by their chain. It is actually a problem in all weathers. We have had fly-grazed horses chocking on their chains and they have had to be rescued."

As well as the obvious concerns about the welfare of the animals the horses can also create problems for pedestrians and drivers if they escape and make their way onto footpaths and roads.

There has been a vast increase of fly-grazing in recent years, something both Sandwell and Dudley Councils in particular have been trying to tackle. Both authorities have spent thousands of pounds contracting bailiffs to round up horses and remove them from council land.

Since 2011, more than 460 horses have been removed from public highways in Dudley alone, with the council spending £100,000 on removing them.

Earlier this year eight horses were rounded up by police after they wandered on to grassland in Wolverhampton and became agitated by traffic.

The animals were herded onto the forecourt of a petrol station on Wolverhampton Road East in Sedgley.

And in February, two caused a stir when they were seen near to the ring road on Penn Road in Wolverhampton.

Councillor Hilary Bills, cabinet member for environment and culture at Dudley Council, said: "The council has developed a range of policies and services to help deal with the problem, including the introduction of the reactive service to remove horses from the highway, in partnership with the local police and a local horse removal contractor.

"Since 2011 there have been more than 460 horses taken from the public highway using this service, reducing the risk to pedestrians, motorists and horses alike, and this service is seen as a model system nationwide."

The most recent action in Dudley was taken in October when two horses were seized from council-owned land off Bryce Road, in Brierley Hill. The council also posts enforcement notice, warning anyone who may leave their horses on council-owned land that their horses may be impounded.

Dudley Council also continues to check the health of animals grazing on council-owned land and work with the RSPCA and local vets when a horse requires treatment.

Councillor Bills said the problem is worse in winter. "Unfortunately the number of horses left in poor condition by irresponsible owners can increase in the winter months, however, we adopt a robust monitoring regime to help address animal welfare concerns across the borough, which includes liaison with the RSPCA , nature reserve staff, the councils own animal welfare officer and local vets when required."

In Sandwell, the problem is one of the biggest being dealt with in the West Midlands.

Despite the council's policy having been in place since 2011, council chiefs say some horse owners are continuing to flout the rules, with Princes End, in Tipton, among the worst-affected areas. More than 100 horses have been removed by the council in the past three years, and the council has spent tens of thousands of pounds on bailiffs to enforce the policy.

The previous company, Rossendales, cost more than £45,000 over two years.

In March last year, an investigation found that only one of the 51 horses seized in the borough had been successfully returned to its owner.

Councillor Ian Jones, cabinet member for jobs and economy, said: "The council has an exclusive contract with a bailiff until March 31, 2016.

"The issue the council faces with unauthorised tethering of horses on areas of public open space is that they are both a nuisance and a potential health and safety risk to people.

"Another issue is horses leaving sites and entering onto the highway when the potential for a serious incident to occur rises dramatically. The number of horses removed since the commencement of the contract is approximately 12."

The issue has even been raised in Parliament, with Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East, claiming existing legislation does not go far enough, and that authorities do not get enough support from the government. He claimed hoses were being found dead tethered to posts, or were left in such bad condition they had to be put down.

However Councillor Jones said that healthy horses impounded in Sandwell will not be put to sleep, instead being found new homes and even being used by riding schools.

Gemma Stanford, of the British Horse Society , said the issue is not just a big problem in the Black Country. Fly-grazing has become a massive issue across the country and the BHS has been pushing for new, tougher legislation to be brought in.

She said: "Calls to welfare charities about fly-grazing have risen by two thirds in the past three years following concerns that horses are being abandoned. Reports of horses straying on roads, horses being dumped on private or council land and abandonments at livery yards have all increased."