Neglected horses removed from blubber pool in Noordenveld

Three horses that were standing on a muddy and boggy piece of land full of feces in the municipality of Noordenveld have been seized by the National Animal Welfare Inspection Service. The owner will be interrogated soon.

The horses had no opportunity to stand on a dry spot in the pasture. They were also standing inches deep in mud at the stables and there was a thick layer of manure inside the stable. “In consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, we decided to take the animals with us,” says spokesperson Jelko de Ruijter. “The lady will receive a report. She will be interrogated and then the public prosecutor will consider the sentence.

Passers-by had put the inspection service on the trail of the neglected horses. She warned the owner several times, but she did not provide a dry place for the horses. “This falls under neglect, but tends to abuse,” the spokesperson said. “You knowingly put those animals there, while you know that horses and ponies have an increased risk of diseases in those circumstances. Moreover, the owner has been warned several times. If the situation does not improve, you can think of abuse.”

If horses and ponies stand in the mud for too long, they run the risk of hoof and skin diseases such as thrush and swollen foot. The animals must also be able to rest in a dry place according to the law.

In recent weeks, horses have been removed from mud puddles in various places in the Northern Netherlands. This happened in a few places in the municipality of Oldambt and in Veendam. “That could be related to an above-average wet winter,” the spokesperson thinks. “We see more meadows that are swampy, but that does not alter the fact that you can always create a dry spot, under all circumstances.”

The horses from the municipality of Noordenveld are housed in a shelter. The question is whether the owner will get her horses back. “The public prosecutor and the judge will consider this. The public prosecutor may decide that the animals will be forfeited. In that case, new shelter will be found for them. The woman herself may face a fine, a ban on keeping or even a prison sentence.

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