*Warning - distressing images*

There has been widespread anger after the body of a horse was discovered abandoned on a residential Cork street.

The animal had been "raced to death" pulling a sulky cart and was then discarded. The incident occurred last week but further photographs have begun to emerge now. The ISPCA has furthermore renewed its appeal for information and is still looking to speak to the owners of the horse. "The group who were racing unhitched the cart after the horse collapsed then walked away laughing, according to witnesses," reports Metro.co.uk. https://twitter.com/Browniebuoy/status/978676583174234112 A JCB was later needed to remove the animal. Sadly, ISPCA inspector Lisa O’Donovan said this is not an isolated incident. "It is not acceptable that you have young kids going out there driving a horse into the ground and then just walking away," she stated. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: RTE[/caption] "A few people said to me that they were laughing as they went which I think is even more horrifying. There is no remorse, guilt. The horse is of no more value to them than anything else," Lisa also stated. And Sinn Féin councillor Ken O’Flynn commented: "I have deep concern and frustration regarding the treatment of horses in the Northside of Cork City. "Those responsible for animal cruelty must be punished and made an example of a letter of the law." https://twitter.com/heritage_dublin/status/979676166675197953 "This is a very distressing incident and we understand a lot of children would have been around at the time and may have come upon the poor animal as it lay dying on the road," a Garda source told The Irish Times. "We are certainly treating it very seriously and want to hear from anyone who can help us investigate what is a truly an appalling and shocking case of animal cruelty." Last year Cork Council had to put down a total of 27 horses. Seven have been euthanised so far in 2018.