World Horse Welfare: Horses thought to be headed to slaughter saved from 'attempted smuggling' at the border

An animal welfare charity has rescued a lorry full of horses abandoned at a Kent holding yard, after it was discovered some were being smuggled overseas without papers.

World Horse Welfare, an international charity, believes the herd of 26 "frightened" horses was bound for slaughter in Europe, and say the case highlights a sickening threat to vulnerable British animals. The charity said the horses had been crammed onto a transporter for export at Dover, but authorities found only 19 of them had the necessary paperwork for the journey - and many had health issues making them unfit to travel.

Chief executive Roly Owers said they applauded border staff for taking action and stopping the vehicle. "But far too often these lorries cross borders unchecked," he said. "From our initial investigations, the horses were allegedly travelling from the Republic of Ireland to France, using Britain as a land-bridge. But they are all British-born horses with some being bought from sales in England shortly before supposedly being ‘imported’ back into the country."

He said regardless of whether the horses started their journey in Ireland or Britain, it was highly likely that they would have been travelling for hours - to potentially end their lives in a European slaughterhouse. "Some are pregnant mares, others had health conditions making them unfit to travel, with one having to be euthanised because it was in such a poor state. Worryingly, 13 of the horses are signed out of the food chain.”

Shortly after their arrival the the charity's Norfolk Rescue and Rehoming Centre, the group was found to be carrying Equine Influenza - an infectious horse disease. The so-called 'Dover 26' were quarantined, but the entire farm was forced to go into lockdown to minimise the spread.

At least five of the mares in the group were pregnant - two heavily - and an elderly mare with severe arthritis was in so much pain she had to be put to sleep. The charity said there were also several "visibly terrified" young colts they believe had never been handled by humans before.

The team found a number of infringements of transport regulations – both when the horses were first discovered and later when they were processed in Norfolk. These included horses not healthy or fit enough for their intended journey, not enough space for the number of horses, horses being travelled without passports, and excessive journey time.

This comes as the UK government’s Animal Welfare (Live Exports) Bill progresses through the House of Lords. World Horse Welfare said the case highlighted just how serious the illegal trade in horses is, and why robust legislation and enforcement are vital to protect British horses and ponies from an unknown fate. The charity has also been campaigning for a ban on the live export of horses for slaughter - which it hopes may be introduced as secondary legislation.

Mr Owers added: "This case highlights the tragic reality we believe countless equines have to suffer through being exported to slaughter. Drivers and vehicles are switched, horses pass through multiple hands, sometimes on fraudulent passports, and are moved between local authority areas and from country to country, before they are exported."

He said this was all to make it harder to trace the people involved, and hide the long journeys horses were being subjected to. "To put an end to these abhorrent movements and to protect our nation’s horses, it is imperative that the UK government gets the Live Export Bill onto the statute book, finally implements a robust and digitalised equine identification system, and establishes an effective system for enforcing all equine legislation, so that smugglers can no longer hide behind a smokescreen of confusion.”