Horse left to 'fly-graze' on a children's park owned by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing

A horse has recently been tethered in a children’s park near Calderbrook Road, despite Rochdale Boroughwide Housing owning the land.

Believed to be called Lewis, the horse has sparked a debate as he has been ‘left with no rug or shelter’ for a considerable amount of time. He is understood to be well-looked after with access to food and water.

A spokesman for RBH said: “We can confirm that the horse is currently on RBH land.

“We are currently trying to speak to the owner to arrange for the safe and healthy
relocation of the horse.”

In 2015, the Control of Horses Act was introduced to give new powers to all landowners when horses are fly-grazed on their land (placed onto their land without permission). This includes horses that are tethered without the landowner’s permission.

Tethering is not specifically illegal in itself, however, the RSPCA don’t recommend tethering as a viable way to keep a horse.

They state: “Under the Animal Welfare Act owners have a legal duty of care to meet the five welfare needs of their horses at all times. You could be in breach of the Act by tethering a horse, if it means that the animal’s basic needs are not being met.

“If a horse needs to be tethered in order to have access to grazing, it must only be for short periods of time. For the remainder of the day the horse should have access to shelter, and a space to run free and interact freely with other horses.”

The Control of Horses Act allows both local authorities and private landowners to remove horses that are left on their land immediately, and take them to a place of safety. They must notify the local police within 24 hours of doing so, and if the owners of the animals can be identified, they must also notify them.

If no owner comes forward or can be identified within four working days, the landowners may then decide to sell or rehome the horsed, or have them euthanised as a last resort.