Horses 'abandoned' in Swaffham including six-week-old foal, charity says
A charity has claimed a six-week-old foal was "dumped" in a field near Swaffham, and is now being cared for.
World Horse Welfare are appealing for information after the foal was found by the owners of the field on the morning of Tuesday, July 31.
Jacko Jackson,World Horse Welfare Field Officer, who was called out to collect the foal, said the animal is lucky to still be alive.
He said: "At such a young age this poor little chap should still be with his mother.
"It's lucky he was found relatively quickly as had he been left for much longer, especially in the extreme heat we have had, it's unlikely he would have survived.
“Horses are not normally weaned until six months of age but this little foal is clearly a fighter.
“We bottle fed him for a couple of days and he has now learnt to drink milk from a bucket and is doing very well.”
Anyone with any information on the abandoned foal are encouraged to contact World Horse Welfare on 0300 333 6000.
The foal will remain with the charity and will be introduced to other youngsters so he can learn to socialise and behave naturally within a herd, a spokeswoman for World Horse Welfare said.
It comes as an abandonment notice was put up last week after horses were left at the Antinghams in Swaffham.
The sign read: "This is to notify that these equines are being detained under Section 7B and 7C of the Animals Act 1971, as introduced by the Control of Horses Act 2015.
"Following four working days of detention, ownership of the the equines will pass to the person detaining the horses, who may then retain ownership, or see they are re-homed, sold or humanely destroyed."
Councillor Ian Pilcher, who represents the Residents4Residents group in Swaffham, said: "There have been horse related incidents in Swaffham recently, due to animals having been put on the Antinghams which is owned by Heygates.
"There were problems of 'escapes' on to adjacent roads and complaints of intimidation of walkers using the rights of way across the field.
"Many residents became annoyed by this disruption and following deliberation in Council, Heygates were asked to assert their authority."
Councillor Graham Edwards of Residents4Residents added: "On the Campingland area, we have had a number of horses and a young foal.
"They really are an absolute pain, they regularly escaped and it was left to local residents, people from the community centre to put them back. Some even made it into the town.
"The owner has now removed the escape artists and the ones here now seem to be happy to just live on the Antinghams."