A live horse was discovered near where rotting carcasses of around 17 animals were found at the base of cliffs in what has been described as a "planned and sinister" act.
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It was initially thought the horse was also dead but it started moving and a vet had to put it down, as it was in a very bad condition.

Clare ISPCA officer Frankie Coote described the deaths of the animals - 10 horses, four cattle, and three calves - at the base of Baltard Cliffs in Doonbeg, Co Clare, as "planned and sinister".

Up to 15 of the animals were found close together at the bottom of the isolated cliffs, while another dead horse lay close by.

The case is being investigated by four separate authorities.

"We can confirm that we're carrying out an investigation in conjunction with the ISPCA, the Department of Agriculture and Clare County Council" said a garda spokesman. "We can't say any more at the moment for operational reasons."

Mr Coote said: "I found nine horses, four cattle, and three calves, together at the bottom of the cliffs. Their ears had been cut off to remove the tags. This was planned. Whoever did it, it took quite a lot of work. Plus removing all identification from the animals made it sinister."

He believes the animals were dumped several weeks ago and were thrown off the 100m-high cliff.

"In my opinion, they've been there definitely more than two months," said Me Coote "From down below, it looks like they were thrown off from the top. Whether they were dead or alive, you can't tell. They weren't shot but their necks and legs are broken."

He said examining the animals was one of the most difficult tasks he has had to carry out in his career.

A walker discovered the animals on Monday while walking on the shore and contacted gardaí in Kilrush.

"I counted about 16 animals on Monday. There are tyre marks all the way up to the edge of the cliffs," said the walker.

"We were walking on Monday and what we thought was a dead horse was lying in the field. The horse actually started moving. The poor thing was dying so we called the gardaí. They came out and called the vet to put the horse down."

Vet Fergal Hennessy attended the scene, and said: "I haven't come across anything like that before."

Mr Hennessy said animal welfare is an issue in Ireland. "The animal welfare organisations are inundated with horses being abandoned. I think, because of the lack of slaughtering facilities for horses, there are an awful lot of horses abandoned rather than being slaughtered because of the fact that they mightn't have the correct paperwork."