Northland friends sickened by discovery of butchered foal on beach

Sheryl Moir - pictured here at Te Arai beach last summer - came across a dead foal with a bullet hole in its stomach and its legs removed while out riding with a friend. Photo / Supplied

Two horse riders were left "sick and horrified" after stumbling across a butchered foal with its legs removed and a bullet hole in its stomach at a Northland beach.

Mangawhai resident Sheryl Moir was riding her horse along Uretiti Beach near Ruakākā with her friend Deanna Banton when they made the grisly discovery last Friday around 11am.

Moir believes the young horse was stolen and killed for its meat for either human or dog consumption and wants to find the owners so they can give it a decent burial.

Moir and Banton decided to go for a ride at Uretiti beach as they couldn't go to their normal spot nearer to Auckland due to Covid-19 level 3 road blocks being manned by police.

They found the dumped foal on a beach access trail near the tip.

"We noticed all these flies and went and had a look," Moir said.

"The horses started freaking out, and my friend said there's something dead here.

"We got off, and about 10 feet off the track was this poor wee foal. It had been shot in the stomach and all four of its legs had been chopped off.

"It would have died a horrendous death."

Moir said there were fresh four-wheel drive tyre tracks in the area and a white ute had been spotted the previous night by a woman who lives nearby.

Beside the foal was a discarded tarp, indicating that someone had covered the animal and taken it to the location to dispose of it.

"It hadn't long been done; probably within 24 hours," she said.

"We've phoned everyone we can think of – somewhere someone is missing a foal."

The friends took photos of the animal and reported the incident to the police and the SPCA.

"We're horse lovers; we felt sick and horrified. It was so traumatic. I never slept on Friday night."

Whangārei SPCA centre manager Francine Shields is "incredibly disturbed" by the incident and encourages anyone with evidence to contact the SPCA or police. Photo / File

Moir said the foal's legs from the shoulder were removed, and she believes it was stolen and butchered for its meat for either human consumption or dog food.

"No horse lover would actually do that to their own foal.

"If a horse has to be shot because it's sick it's instant, it's not shot in the stomach and left to suffer."

Moir said she has heard of people eating horses in New Zealand, including one case of a man who went to a hangi and didn't realise he was eating horse meat.

"Apparently it's not that uncommon. I was shocked to think anyone would eat horse meat."

Whangārei SPCA centre manager Francine Shields said the SPCA is "incredibly disturbed" by the incident and strongly encourages anyone with further information to contact them or police.

The animal welfare charity will investigate, but there is no offence if it was killed humanely, she said.

"If someone witnessed someone shoot this horse and it wasn't rendered unconscious instantly, then we have an offence.

"SPCA will investigate these incidents, however, we do require evidence to determine any potential legal action in animal welfare offences."

A spokesman for the Ministry for Primary Industries said the consumption of horse meat is not prohibited in New Zealand.

Rules applying to home kill meat must be adhered to, he said.

This includes "ensuring that it is killed in a way that it does not suffer unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress".