A new Horse Watch scheme has been launched in North Lincolnshire to help tackle a space of horse crimes in the area.

Report horse crime

In June there were two shocking attacks on horses. One incident involved a horse having its tail hacked off, while the other resulted in the death of a pregnant mare and her unborn foal.

Earlier in the year thousands of pounds of equipment were taken from a yard on the Isle of Axholme.

In order to prevent such attacks happening in the future Horse Watch will bring together the agencies involved with horses, including vets, livery yards, the police, council and horse owners. 

“I welcome this initiative to help tackle horse crime,” said Stuart Minto, head of safer neighbourhoods at the North Lincolnshire council. “It will make it much easier to detect and report horse crime – whether it’s cruelty to horses or theft. And the beauty of it is that people can share vital information that will hopefully lead to arrest.”

Share vital information

There are also plans to launch a Facebook page where people can share information. It will link to other Horse Watch pages from across the country and provide links to neighbouring police areas.

Councillor Carl Sherwood, cabinet member at North Lincolnshire Council, said that horse crime will not be tolerated.

“This new initiative will help track down criminals and bring them to justice for their cruel and vindictive crimes,” he said. “The dedicated Facebook page will enable the key organisations and individuals to work together and share vital information. It will become the recognised official site that people can use.”