'Animal cruelty in broad daylight': Mayor urges Kilkenny gardaí to tackle issue of horses being pulled in river

The Mayor of Kilkenny is calling for a crackdown on animal cruelty following numerous incidents in recent days where horses were put into the River Nore and forced to swim, pulled along by a rope.

In videos seen by the Kilkenny People, the horse in the water can be seen hundreds of yards down river, attempting to turn back but instead being pulled further along by a young man standing on a wall. It happened last Wednesday afternoon, Saturday morning, and again today (Wednesday).

Locals and visitors to the city have reported their distress at the scenes, and gardaí have been notified. Mayor Andrew McGuinness says the horse-free zone by-laws he helped introduce must be strictly enforced.

“I have seen the shocking video footage of a young man dragging a horse up the River Nore with its head barely above water,” he said.
WATCH:Horse made to swim in middle of Kilkenny by young man with rope again

"This is an example of animal cruelty at its worst, in broad daylight, in front of passersby in the city centre. The young man should not have responsibility for any animal and should be penalised for this horrific display of cruelty.

"Some years ago I put forward proposals to create horse-free zones in Kilkenny City in order to help put an end to this type of cruely and to give gardai the powers to be able to deal with it and make arrests. It has worked well and we have seen a significant reduction in incidents like this, but it seems to be creeping back in now, and we can't allow that to happen.

"I'm calling on Kilkenny Gardaí to take a zero tolerance approach in terms of enforcing the horse-free zones in Kilkenny City and to investigate these incidents to stamp this out before it becomes a common occurrence. Animal cruelty in any form should not be tolerated and our bylaws should be strictly enforced at all times."
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