Warning - some viewers may find the contents of this video disturbing
A video being shared profusely on Facebook this morning shows a harrowing scene of a man beating his horse mercilessly on the road after it seemingly collapsed.
The Malta Independent contacted the young woman who took the video to give a detailed account of what she saw.
As she was walking close to the HSBC in the Swatar area, she said she saw the horse laying on the road and the man beating him. She told the man to “leave him alone”, but the horse’s owner ignored her and kept up the beating. The man kept repeating the phrase, “something happened to him” as he continued to beat him.
The young woman subsequently called Animal Welfare and she was told that when they went to the scene to investigate 30 minutes later, the owner and the horse were not there.
In her comments, she said that she was not only shocked by what she was seeing, but also the fact that there were a “number of people around just looking and doing absolutely nothing”. The woman said she “couldn’t bear to watch”.
Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes told The Malta Independent that he had seen the video and forwarded it to the police commissioner for investigation.
The Animal Welfare Directorate also confirmed with this newsroom that it had received a report on the incident.
The Nationalist Party spokesman for animal rights told The Malta Independent that he had been given assurances that the man responsible for the horse's beating is to be arraigned in court.
It was announced today that a silent protest against animal abuse will be held on Sunday 17 April. The protest, which is being organised by animal rights activist and presenter Moira Delia, will start from the Love monument in St Julians at 10:30am. The theme is: 'What good are laws without enforcement?'