Swiss animal rights workers fear there are 10,000 people roaming the nation with an unnatural sexual interest in horses.

According to new figures, there were a record 1,709 cases of animal cruelty in Switzerland last year, with at least one horse suffering sexual abuse every three days.

At a press conference in Zurich, animal rights organisation Tier im Recht outlined the scale of the abuse, with is thought to be under reported.

Experts fear there are 10,000 zoophiles roaming around Switzerland looking for horses to sexually assault

Spokesman Andreas Rüttimann, said there were 150,000 people in Switzerland involved in equestrian activities with an estimated 110,000 horses living on 18,000 farms.

He told 20min.ch: 'Compared with cases concerning other species, prosecutions for crimes committed against horses a strikingly high percentage relate to zoophilia offenses.'

He said approximately one in ten of all animal abuse cases involving horses relates to unnatural sexual contact.

Mr Rüttimann said that the most common animal targeted by Swiss zoophiles are dogs, but horses are increasingly popular.

He admitted that the high level of cases involving horses may relate to the level or risk involved. 'You have to sneak into the barn - the chance of getting caught, is certainly greater than that of a pet.'