Horror as dead horses are found at Goldthorpe layby

The horrific scene was in the layby on the Aldi roundabout at Highgate in Goldthorpe yesterday.

The grim discovery of the mare and foal has prompted a search to track down the animals’ owner, who could face prosecution.

Cllr Roy Miller (pictured above), Barnsley Council’s cabinet spokesperson for Place, said: “This has been a very sad incident and we are working to trace the owners.

“The horses have now been removed, and any information will be passed to the RSCPA.

“The council takes animal welfare very seriously. Anyone who is cruel to or doesn’t care for an animal properly may be banned from owning animals, fined up to £20,000 or sent to prison.

“If you have any concerns about an animal being mistreated, please let us know at barnsley.gov.uk/animal-welfare.”

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA said: “We did receive a call about this distressing discovery, and the caller was advised to contact the local authority and given both their details and those of DEFRA.

“The removal of dead animals is the responsibility of the landowner, and where that doesn’t take place that may be an issue for animal health.

“We would only be involved if there was evidence that the animals in question had been neglected or suffered.

“In this particular case, based on the information given by the caller to our cruelty and advice line, it would seem that the horse and her foal died during birth.

“We do find that people can be reluctant to call a knackermen to dispose of bodies as they charge horse owners a fee to do so, so we do get a lot of calls about this kind of thing.

“Horses are often dumped in out of the way places to avoid having to pay this bill, and it doesn’t always mean that something untoward has happened to them.”