SAPS
The National Council of SPCA’s and the police say they will be laying charges against those who killed a racehorse at the Fairview racecourse outside Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning.
NSPCA spokesperson, Meg Wilson, says they are shocked by the incident which saw the animal severely beaten and stabbed.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu, says a mob of around 200 protesters from the Fairview Informal settlement stormed onto the property of the Fairview racecourse at around 6 am and released 28 racehorses from their stables.
Colonel Naidu says the group apparently assaulted the horses with sticks and stones and that the animals fled in all directions.
One horse was found dead about a kilometre away in an opening near the houses.
Colonel Naidu says all the horses have now been accounted for and the injured animals are receiving treatment from the Port Elizabeth Animal Anti-Cruelty League.
The exact cause of the protest is unclear at this stage and Public Order Policing will remain in the area to avert further attacks.
Police are investigating a case of malicious injury to property and additional charges may be added.
The incident resulted in an outpouring of anger on social media, so much so that Colonel Naidu appealed to social media users not to post false information as they ran the risk of being prosecuted.
