The foal was only about two weeks old

An animal rights group has hit out at the ‘barbaric’ killing of a two-week-old foal which was beaten to death before being set on fire by a gang of teenagers.

The gruesome attack took place in Castlepark in Galway city over the weekend and saw a group of young teens torture the animal and it’s mother before killing it.

The horrific assault was witnessed by a number of people including children as young as nine.

Investigators for the Galway Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (GSPCA) have opened a probe into the matter and will be passing all information onto gardai.

Margaret O’Sullivan of the GSPCA said the attack was nothing short of horrific.

“The foal was only about two weeks old. There was a gang of children and young teens involved. They beat it until it died. To do the damage they did they would have had to use sticks or stones,” she said.

In a disturbing twist the foal’s tormentors set fire to the young animal after it’s death.

“We think it was dead when they set it on fire. It’s just horrific, I can’t describe it. For anybody to be able to carry out such cruelty on an animal is a real concern. We all know that serial killers start off killing animals and if you can do this to a baby foal where does it end.

“The gang that did this were very young, just in their early teens but there were children around nine or ten also there at the time. This was witnessed by a number of people,” she said.

The body of the young animal was moved from the scene before members of the GSPCA could retrieve it. Ms O’Sullivan believes it may have been dumped in the nearby Merlin Woods and has appealed to walkers to alert the if they come across it.

“The woods are adjacent to the field where the foal was killed and we believe it could have been dumped there. We would appeal to anybody who discovers it while out walking to notify us.

“We will continue to investigate this matter and we will make a report to gardai, this is too serious to ignore,” she said.

The foal’s mother was also injured in the attack and was beaten with sticks. However, the horse has since been moved from the field and GSPCA inspectors do not know it’s location or what condition it is now in.

Online Editors