Dead pony 'discarded like a piece of rubbish' at side of Shropshire road

The woman found the pony at the end of her driveway in Cleobury North on Sunday morning. She said it looked like a coloured gipsy cob, and that she would scan it for microchips to see if its owner could be tracked down.

She said: "I would think if any of my horses had gone missing out the field, I would wish people would act more quickly.

"This poor pony is emaciated and looks very ragged.

"It must have died and someone just dumped its body out here. It's been ditched and discarded just like a piece of rubbish.

"In my opinion this young filly was kept in a lot of mess and starved to death before being discarded on the roadside like the lifeless empty bottle of coke beside it.

"If on the off chance anyone does recognise this pony or suspect others are being kept in this condition locally please get in touch with the RSPCA as they have the reports and photographs to investigate this particular case.

"The only part of this pony in reasonable condition were it's feet, which doesn't necessarily mean they were being trimmed by a farrier but maybe one of them would recognise it."

Rachel Butler, spokeswoman for the RSCPA said: "We were contacted after the body of an underweight horse was dumped in Cleobury North.

"We are appealing for information and ask anyone who can help us to contact us in complete confidence on 0300 123 8018."

Tim Sneddon, Shropshire Council's environmental maintenance operations manager, said: "Shropshire Council were contacted Sunday morning about a dead pony, and our contractors Ringway went to the location given in the report between 10am and midday, but could not find the pony.

"If you see a dead animal which is causing a hazard or distress on the public highway, you can report it via shropshire.gov.uk/environmental-maintenance-and-enforcement/street-care-and-cleansing/dead-animals/ "