Concern over horses left in Wellingborough flood water

Concerns have been raised over a number of horses left in flood water in Wellingborough.

Water levels around the town's Embankment rose following the severe flooding which hit the county on December 23.

This left a number of horses in the pallet yard opposite the Tesco superstore in Turnells Mill Lane standing in flood water for several days.

It led to people contacting the RSPCA to raise their concerns about the horses in this area, which is close to where 43 horses were rescued in a large multi-agency operation last February.One concerned member of the public told the Northants Telegraph they were 'frustrated' that the horses had been allowed to stay in the flood water, especially with Storm Bella due to hit on Boxing Day.

They were unhappy with the conditions these horses are living in and added: "Ourselves and some members of the public have been providing hay, haylage and straw to the horses to keep them fed whilst they reside in the water."

But despite their concerns, the RSPCA has said the horses were not considered to be in danger.

A spokesman for the charity told the Northants Telegraph: “We were made aware of some horses which were seen in a flooded field opposite the Tesco store last week.

“Although the field was flooded and these were not ideal conditions for the animals, the horses were not considered to be in danger and the owner did provide hay for them to eat.

“We would always urge anyone with horses and livestock to move their animals from areas at risk of floods and keep a close eye on water levels.

“We monitored the welfare of the horses over a number of days until water levels returned to normal for this time of year.

“We would like to thank animal lovers who monitor and raise concerns to us in this area and would like to assure them we will continue with our efforts to ensure the welfare of the horses.”

The spokesman also said: “With so many horses in the Wellingborough area we need to ensure we see the right animals when people call in so we are asking callers to give a detailed description of the location and to include What3Words references for field entrances or for the animal's location if it appears to be unable to move.”

The plight of horses in Wellingborough has been a concern for many people for many years, with members of the public regularly raising it with the borough council, the police, their MP, numerous animal organisations including the RSPCA and the Northants Telegraph.

Help for Wellingborough Horses started a petition calling for better protection of vulnerable horses like the ones at the Embankment and changes to the Animal Welfare Act.

The petition, which has now received nearly 14,000 signatures, was presented in Parliament last November and the town's MP Peter Bone said afterwards that he was looking forward to the response from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

To read more about the petition started by Help for Wellingborough Horses, click here.

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