RSPCA called to help 200 horses in crisis

The animal charity has released the figures as microchipping of horses becomes compulsory in England this month, but fears it will not be enough to prevent an impending horse welfare catastrophe.

The RSPCA is launching its month-long rehoming drive, Adoptober, and has revealed that nationally the number of horses in its care is already three times what it was at the start of the last recession in 2009.

The charity says it is braced for huge numbers of abandoned and neglected horses, as the country plunges into an even deeper financial downturn.

Between March 23 and September 8 alone, the RSPCA dealt with 4,479 incidents involving horses, including 123 in Staffordshire and 82 in the West Midlands.

In 2019, the charity rehomed 242 horses, but almost 760 remain in the charity’s care to date – desperately needing new homes.

The RSPCA is expecting more horses to be abandoned or neglected as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the deepening recession and is urging people who are looking to take on a horse to think about adopting one from the charity.

Although the RSPCA welcomes the change in the law to make microchipping of all equines mandatory irrespective of age, as it is for dogs, it warns the move is not enough alone to tackle irresponsible breeders and owners at the heart of the equine crisis, which has now raged for eight years.

At the same time, many animal welfare organisations have seen donations plummet during the pandemic, and there is already huge pressure on resources.

Animal welfare charities received no specific financial help during lockdown and the RSPCA is calling on the Government to give financial support to the sector.