John 'Shark' Hanlon: Horse trainer banned and fined for transporting 'open' dead horse

Horse trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has been fined £1,685 and banned for ten months after he was spotted transporting a dead horse in view of the public eye.

A video emerged on social media in June of the incident - Hanlon was said to be driving a trailer from Kilkenny to County Carlow, with a dead horse clearly visible on the back of the vehicle.

The horse box had Hanlon’s branding on it - while the horse was said to be covered with a tarpaulin, it had become ‘displaced’ over the course of the journey.

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory subsequently brought charges before Hanlon, saying that his actions had ‘attracted significant public opprobrium and adverse comment’ and that he had been ‘grossly negligent in the supervision of the transport of the horse carcass’.

The referrals committee, chaired by Mr Justice Tony Hunt, stated: “The public are entitled to hold legitimate expectations and concerns as to the humane and respectful treatment of both live and dead sport horses. The IHRB must respond appropriately to those expectations and concerns by the meaningful enforcement of reasonable standards of conduct by licensed participants in the sport.

“The adverse publicity then spread to the conventional media. Mr Hanlon's conduct thereby attracted significant public opprobrium and adverse comment, relating to both Mr Hanlon personally and to the racing industry generally.

“The importance of proper respect for the carcass of the deceased animal ought to have been well-known to all trainers, including Mr Hanlon, following recent high-profile public controversies concerning the shortcomings of trainers and riders in other cases.”

Upon the ruling, Hanlon said: “We are going to appeal. I am surprised and very disappointed. It was one of those things and it's not like I intentionally set out to do what happened. I feel like I didn't do anything wrong and what happened was an accident.”