During the recent holidays, 35 horses were dumped on community land in Wales in the Vale of Glamorgan. The horses have “trashed” the site, according to the charity The Woodland Trust, which owns the land.
Just before Christmas the gates at Monks Wood, where villagers had planted trees in memory of loved ones, were broken down and the horses were abandoned on the privately owned land.
Since then staff from the Woodland Trust has delivered hay to the site, but the hungry animals have stripped the trees of bark and eaten most of the grass.
Despite appeals in local media, the owner has not come forward, and, originally, it was thought that the horses might have to be destroyed since local sanctuaries were filled to capacity, but the animals were removed over this past weekend.
Woodland Trust spokesman Rory Francis reported that a number of offers from members of the public to take some of these horses came in, but in fact, on Saturday morning, the horses were all moved with more damage caused to the site during the removal.
The charity has asked the police to investigate.
According to local officials many horses and ponies are being dumped on private land, leaving the owners to have to deal with the problems.