Photos provided to the ABC by the head of an animal rescue organisation show dead horses and others that appear to be severely malnourished on a property west of Toowoomba.

Key points: Inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have attended the property

Inspectors from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have attended the property Eight horses are still at the property and appear to be severely malnourished

Eight horses are still at the property and appear to be severely malnourished The owner of the horses said they were given hay on Christmas Day

It is understood 35 horses have died at the property, some of which are ex-racehorses

Warning: This story contains images some people may find distressing.

The founder of Australian Farm Animal Rescue Matters (AFARM) Marjorie Pagani said the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) was alerted to the horses' condition, but more needed to be done.

"Sadly nothing has happened except their continued starvation," Ms Pagani said.

She said the department sent inspectors to the property five days after being alerted by AFARM.

"During those five days, one more [horse] died," she said.

The owner of the horses — who has requested that his name not be published — confirmed some of the horses were in a poor condition and others had died.

Ms Pagani says the smell from the dead animals is "outrageous". ( Supplied )

"They got in that condition because I was away [for work]. They went downhill in an awful hurry," he said.

He said he was confident the situation was under control and he took 20 bales of hay to them on Christmas Day.

"The horses are being attended to … [and they] are on a feeding regime," he said.

'They have been eating bark off trees'

A nearby resident said he discovered the horses earlier this month while travelling along a boundary fence to the property.

The resident said he had contacted the RSPCA, the Department of Primary Industries, the Toowoomba Regional Council and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC).

"On Saturday the QRIC came and investigated," he said.

"It has been very frustrating. It seems like no-one wants to come and do anything."

An animal rescue charity says the carcasses remain at the Darling Downs property a month after they died. ( Supplied )

He said he was disgusted by the state of the eight remaining horses.

"It is shocking," he said.

"They shouldn't have been put in that position. He (the owner) should have been feeding them months ago like everyone else has been feeding their stock.

"They have been getting worse over two or three months because there is nothing in the paddocks for them to eat. They have even been eating the bark off the trees.

"It has been very poor management. The owner is away and he was supposed to have a bloke here looking after them, well he hasn't been doing it."

The resident said concerned people have put in money from their own pockets to feed the horses.

"A lady from up at Cairns has got involved and spent $1,000 of her home money to feed the horses and she has a local lady feeding them for her," he said.

Foster carers on standby

Ms Pagani said the RSPCA was not able to intervene in the case due to a jurisdictional issue.

"They said they weren't able to take any steps now that DAF have jurisdiction," she said.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the RSPCA had passed on a number of complaints about the horses to the DAF.

Marjorie Pagani says DAF had done nothing to remove the horses. ( ABC News: Mark Slade )

The owner of the horses — who is not the owner of the property — has reportedly been told by the DAF to feed the horses.

"We've kept surveillance on this property and there's no evidence of adequate feeding at all," Ms Pagani said.

"These horses are in 10 acres of dirt.

"These are starving horses, they are dying. They need special care … they need slow introduction [of food and supplements] after a couple of weeks of good quality hay three times a day," she said.

Ms Pagani said the State Government must act to make sure the eight surviving animals are taken care of.

"The Palaszczuk Government promised action in relation to the racing industry.

"That is totally unacceptable, we've been keeping surveillance on the property and last Sunday for example, nobody came to feed them.

"We've been working tirelessly to get some welfare for these animals."

Ms Pagani said she had foster carers with stabling facilities nearby, who were ready to take the horses and care from them, but the department had not acted to remove the horses.

A spokesperson said on Tuesday that Biosecurity Queensland inspectors and a veterinarian had attended a property in the Gowrie Mountain area following an animal welfare complaint.

Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett said the case was under the jurisdiction of Biosecurity Queensland, who were investigating.

"The owner of the horses is not and has not been a licensed racing industry participant," he said.

"Among the deceased and horses in serious condition seven can be identified as ex-racehorses."

Directive issued to care for remaining horses

Chief biosecurity officer Malcolm Letts said the owner of the horses had been issued directives to care for the remaining eight horses.

"It's distressing for us to see horses in the condition of the horses that have been in the press over the last 48 hours on the property west of Toowoomba around Charlton," he said.

"It is the duty of those people in charge of horses to take whatever is reasonable care of those horses and ensure their health and wellbeing."

Mr Letts said within 48 hours of the incident there were inspectors onsite. ( ABC News: Tim Swanston )

He said within 48 hours of the incident there were inspectors onsite and they met with the people in charge of the animals.

"Those horses are now being fed and cared for in accordance with the directive that's been issued by Biosecurity Queensland," Mr Letts said.

"It's important to note that it's not simply a case of throwing hay to animals that are in this sort of condition — we need a specific feeding regime to ensure that they get well as quickly as they possibly can.

"If the owner continues the directive, as they are at the moment, then we are satisfied that the animals will be brought back to a reasonable condition.

"We are hopeful that they will continue to follow that directive — we will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that they do."

Mr Letts also said as the drought continued across the state, there had been a steady increase in the number of animal welfare cases over the last three years that Biosecurity Queensland has had to deal with.

"Most of those relate to animals in poor condition as a result of lack of feed," he said.

"We work with the owners of those livestock in the first instance to seek to rectify the situation by getting feed available to those animals and improving their wellbeing.

"After that work, in terms of getting a rectification, [if it] is not successful, then we will proceed to issuing directives and then if that's not successful, we will proceed to prosecution as a last resort."