Horse owners come together against attacks

Horse owners have united at a public meeting in Cornwall last week in a bid to crack down on horse crime in the area.

Residents from Fowey and surrounding areas turned out in their masses to launch the Horse Watch scheme – put in place as a deterrent to criminals targeting horses.

Linda Thomas and Natalie Phillips launched the scheme following an upsetting attack near Redruth last month which was reported on Horsemart and made national headlines.

Horse Watch will work to create an active support network between owners and the police – it will see people being more vigilant and keeping their eye out for anyone behaving suspiciously or trespassing on land.

It is hoped that the scheme will speed up the process from when an incident occurs and how it is dealt with and act as a deterrent to anyone wishing to harm an animal.

Personal detail forms were handed out so that the public could sign up to the community messaging – a system whereby if a vehicle or person creates suspicion the police will send a group message to everyone on the network.

Photo by Marilyn Peddle