The PA,

Any horse death is to be regretted and I do not condone the negligence and/or ignorance of car drivers, but the incidents you describe come, rightly or wrongly, under the category of 'accident'.

I am talking about deliberate or reckless behaviour resulting in the death of a horse.

As an obvious horse lover, how do you react to this:

Horse death reflects worst aspects of fair
Saturday, 17 June 2006
THE RSPCA is appealing for information after the death of a horse at Appleby New Fair.

Police alerted the society to the horse which had collapsed outside The Grapes public house in The Sands, Appleby, in the early hours of Sunday. Despite the best efforts of RSPCA inspectors and two vets, the horse died.

It seems the animal was abandoned after being run up and down Battlebarrow, Appleby, a number of times. It is believed the horse then became exhausted and collapsed.

RSPCA chief inspector Brian Jeffries said: "This appalling incident reflects the worst of the animal welfare concerns at the Appleby fair. Despite efforts made by all those involved, incidents like this raise serious questions about how certain individuals conduct themselves whilst at the fair."

The RSPCA is seeking to identify the occupants of a blue Ford Transit flatbed lorry which was seen leaving the scene. Anybody with any information regarding this incident can call the RSPCA in confidence on its 24-hour cruelty hotline 0870 5555 999.


(There were no arrests, BTW).

Some people on this thread have attempted to compare deaths at Appleby with, say, the racing industry. However, Appleby Fair only takes place during one week of the year, so the comparisons are meaningless. So far I have discovered 7 deaths since 2000 (there was no fair in 2001). That equates to seven weeks' worth of racing. I wonder how the figures stack up now?