ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUPS have reacted angrily after an Irish horse seller put photos of their new zebra on Facebook.
Photos of the zebra popped up on the site last night, showing a fully grown man on its back. A separate video showed the animal pulling a cart.
The photos and videos were widely shared on the Facebook page of animal rescue charity My Lovely Horse Rescue, before being taken down by the dealer.
Tiffany Quinn of My Lovely Horse told TheJournal.ie that the images were troubling.
“It’s not natural for a zebra to pull a cart – it can’t be used as a beast of burden. Also, this animal looks very young, its bones may not be fully formed.
“Besides, zebras are herd animals and this is the only zebra these dealers have bought.”
Quinn said that the issue comes back to unclear legislation.
Exotic animals can be bought and sold freely in Ireland under the current 1911 animal welfare legislation.
Quinn says that this needs to be clarified.
“We want a much more prescriptive wording in the legislation to include all equine species. Right now there is a grey area in the law that needs to be cleared up.”
The Department of Agriculture says it is aware of the post and is investigating.
Phone calls to the horse dealer have not been returned.
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