A young pony, abandoned and running amongst busy Bristol traffic has now been caught and is safe in the care of horse rescue charity, HorseWorld.

Police were called to catch the pony in the early hours of the morning of Thursday, 9th January accompanied by members of the public in the busy industrial area of Cribbs Causeway.

The colt, running loose, was in danger of being hit by traffic and killed. Once caught and off the highway, the Police were called to other matters leaving the members of the public to find somewhere safe for the horse to go. HorseWorld were called and a space was offered in the charity’s quarantine unit.

“These horses are falling through the cracks in a very flawed system” said HorseWorld’s Managing Director, Mark Owen. “Many local authorities don’t have anyone appointed to take responsibility for them and the Police have other urgent matters to deal with. It’s falling back on the already-overstretched rescue charities to pick up the pieces.

“In the days following this rescue, we were made aware of three more incidents involving loose horses on the road in the same area. If the Animal Welfare Act and current DEFRA Codes of Practice were enforced consistently, by correctly trained Local Authority appointed Inspectors, horses like these would not be left at risk.

“The UK Parliament website states: “No specific body is under a statutory duty to enforce the welfare requirements in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Act sets out a discretionary power for national and local authorities to appoint ‘Inspectors’.

“The assumption at the time was that local authorities would appoint Inspectors from amongst their staff. However, this has not happened. In 2011, Dr Fiona Cooke, an independent researcher, found that just under 40% of local authorities in England had failed to appoint any Inspectors under the authority of section 51. In respect of those authorities in England which had made appointments, only 17% had Inspectors dealing with companion animal welfare on a daily basis. Some witnesses said that the discretionary nature of the power had meant that many local authorities had chosen not to exercise it, with animal welfare issues taking low priority.”

The young colt rescued from the busy road has been named Oliver. HorseWorld’s Yard Manager, Sarah Hollister said: “We named him after Oliver Twist as he was cast out on the streets looking tatty and raggedy with nobody taking responsibility for his welfare. Please Sir, can he have some more…support!”

HorseWorld believe it should be a mandatory duty for all Local Authorities to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and Codes of Practice by employing a fully trained Animal Welfare Inspector and protect thousands of equines across the country from suffering.

The charity has set up a website where members of the public can add their voice to the campaign at: breakthechain.horseworld.org.uk