ANIMAL lovers are up in arms after a horse which had been abused and abandoned in the middle of Almeria city was rescued moments before death.
The mare had been callously tied to a lamppost without food or water on Avenida del Mar in the La Chanca neighbourhood on Saturday.
Eventually, starving and emaciated, it lost consciousness and toppled over.
Onlookers were horrified to see the creature sprawled out on the road with its head on the curb and pavement.
Its body was also littered with cuts and gashes on its chest, neck and back.
City cleaning workers were the first to come to the horse’s aid, trying to revive it until local police arrived.
Eventually it was able to stand up again, and specialists from the city’s zoosanitary centre loaded it onto the back of a collection van and took it away.
Almería City Council has reported that ‘the horse is already eating, and everything points to a full recovery.’
The rescue was recorded and shared on social media, and the video received several comments from outraged users baying for the owner’s blood.
“Whoever kept the animal in such terrible conditions should be prosecuted,” one user wrote.
Another one said: “Let’s see if they can track down on the ‘owner’ and give him a beating.”
At this time, the town hall has not provided information on the horse’s owner.
However once identified, he or she is likely to face penalties for mistreatment and abandonment under the Animal Welfare Act.
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