Rescue horses being sent to UK

[stormox]

I have been reading on another website about horses in rescue homes in other countries- France and Ireland were mentioned- being sent to UK to be rehomed. Although I feel sorry for ALL horses that are not well looked after, do we not already have enough unwanted, abandoned horses in the UK already? Are our rescue homes not already bursting at the seams? Do people think this is right?

 

[FlyingCircus]

Seen loads of Spanish type horses being bought to the UK to be "rescued". Annoys me because people basically just want a cheap pretty horse (and to claim they rescued one!) when we have loads of horses already in need here.

 

[Orca]

I have been reading on another website about horses in rescue homes in other countries- France and Ireland were mentioned- being sent to UK to be rehomed. Although I feel sorry for ALL horses that are not well looked after, do we not already have enough unwanted, abandoned horses in the UK already? Are our rescue homes not already bursting at the seams? Do people think this is right?

I don't know. It's something I've thought about regarding dogs too. We take in thousands each year yet dogs here are being pts through a lack of shelter spaces. It doesn't seem right.

 

[Lacuna]

I agree - rescues here are turning animals away daily as they have no spaces and yet we have a multitude of organisations bringing them over from overseas.

Horses from France, Dogs from Eastern Europe and Spain, I've even come across cats coming from Greece. While I have every sympathy for the animals being ill-treated or abandoned, bringing them across here fills homes and resources that could go to our own animals in need.

I've also heard of some 'rescues' that ship animals across merely to make a profit, but I'm not sure how reliable that information is. As a lot of them are private efforts and are not registered charities, its very hard to tell.

 

[WeeLassie]

These people have a FB page and they make several references to shipping horses and donkeys to UK (and dogs) www.facebook.com/ahar/ie

 

[Tiddlypom]

Importing horses, or indeed dogs or other animals, for 'rescue' in this country doesn't sit well with me either. Our own rescue charities are overwhelmed as it is with UK cases.

 

[elliefiz]

I chose to rescue 2 dogs from Romania. Have you any idea how badly they are treated over there? And the conditions of the state run pounds? Battersea dogs home it certainly isn't. Yes there are animals needing homes in the UK. But most rescue centres here are luxury compared to how the animals live in Eastern Europe. Also I have no interest in adopting a staffie, seeing as they make up a huge percentage of the dogs needing homes, should I just not have bothered adopting a rescue dog at all? Same with the horse situation. People want a Spanish horse, they adopt a rescue one and then they have done good all round. I doubt the person who wants a Spanish horse will decide against getting one from Spain and instead adopt a hairy gypsy piebald from their local Redwings, it doesn't work like that. Better they help a rescue animal than buy one I say no matter where it originated from. I know one of the Irish Horse charities that send horses to the UK for rehoming always have nice children's ponies. Maybe there is demand for that here, definitely more so than there is in Ireland.

 

[AmyMay]

It's been going on for years and is a very nice little earner for some.

 

[elliefiz]

It's been going on for years and is a very nice little earner for some.

Agree with this but it's very hard to know who to donate money to anymore as even the biggest charities seem to have profit making as their priorities sadly.

 

[stormox]

Cant do your link, WeeLassie but I think you mean animal heaven animal rescue? Yes they send loads of dogs to Alllsorts where their page says its for dogs found in Sussex, no mention of them coming from Ireland. Wouldnt be surprised if they send horses over too, not right IMHO as our charities here really cant take any more, even deserving cases.

 

[wills_91]

Part of the problem here is charities are so strict on re homing. We enquired about re homing a dog we were refused on the grounds that the dog would be left alone 2 days a week for around 5 hours!

It doesn't sit well with me either to bring animals across when there are so many here and I'm afraid I've never had a positive meeting with an abused Romanian rescue dog....

 

[poacher82]

People want a Spanish horse, they adopt a rescue one and then they have done good all round. I doubt the person who wants a Spanish horse will decide against getting one from Spain and instead adopt a hairy gypsy piebald from their local Redwings, it doesn't work like that. Better they help a rescue animal than buy one I say no matter where it originated from.

I get your point, better to rescue something than nothing. However why do people want these horses over something from the UK? I believe people think they are "saving" a quality Spanish horse and getting a lovely bargain, when the reality is they are mopping up the poorest quality horses from mass over-breeding. There's no way the Spanish breeders/dealers are passing on the quality animals as rescues. It's the same scenario as the coloured cobs over here, the best are kept and the rest - which are just the by-products of the 'if I breed enough, I'll get a great one' philosophy - are the ones that end up neglected and in need of 'rescue'. Seems these European breeders have found themselves a good market for selling the worst horses for decent money.

 

[applecart14]

I have been reading on another website about horses in rescue homes in other countries- France and Ireland were mentioned- being sent to UK to be rehomed. Although I feel sorry for ALL horses that are not well looked after, do we not already have enough unwanted, abandoned horses in the UK already? Are our rescue homes not already bursting at the seams? Do people think this is right?

I'm sorry but this annoys me so much. We are overburdened in the UK with unwanted horses and ponies and the rescue charities are swamped. I know a woman that does the same with rescue dogs, bringing them over from Romania with a view of short term fostering them till they can be found new homes but she has been unable to rehome them as they are essentially 'street dogs' and have formed a pack biting and savaging other animals, horses and people. THe police have been involved and now they are either banished to her car during the day or stuck in a cage as they are uncontrollable.

Its so sad, I feel really sorry for them, they should be PTS over there instead of being brought here and expected to fit into everyday life in an environment they are totally unused to and they can never become part of. Its not their fault and I feel sorry for the woman who was only doing good by them, but is now saddled with them.

 

[dollyanna]

I don't know if it would happen quite as much with horses but one of my biggest issues with bringing in dogs from abroad is the lack of backup once they are in so many cases. Our rescue centres are starting to be inundated with these dogs who come over having only lived on the street and are often paid for by well meaning but naive people who don't have the skills to help them adapt to life as a pet. They then do the usual and give up on it, and it either ends up on the streets here or trying to find space in our rescue centres, but now with a "behavioural" tag on it so even less likely to find a home.
If people already give up on British horses and ponies so easily and abandon them, what happens to those who bring in a Spanish horse and then find that once fed and fit it is actually far too much to handle?
Aside from that I can't see how it can be cheap to bring a horse over, given that it seems to take thousands to bring one dog.

 

[Orca]

I chose to rescue 2 dogs from Romania. Have you any idea how badly they are treated over there? And the conditions of the state run pounds? Battersea dogs home it certainly isn't. Yes there are animals needing homes in the UK. But most rescue centres here are luxury compared to how the animals live in Eastern Europe....

The point is that due to overcrowding, thousands of dogs here never get to see the inside of one of the dogs homes you describe. They don't have a chance to live at all and are euthanised instead. I agree the number of Staffs in rescue is ludicrous and I feel something should have been done long ago to ensure they weren't so overbred but there are dogs of all sizes, breeds and dispositions in rescue currently (and being PTS) and lots of them. Individuals will rescue from wherever they wish and that really is up to them but it doesn't seem right to import homeless dogs or horses to rescues here currently, when we are already resorting to killing purely because of overcrowding.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Also I have no interest in adopting a staffie, seeing as they make up a huge percentage of the dogs needing homes, should I just not have bothered adopting a rescue dog at all? Same with the horse situation. People want a Spanish horse, they adopt a rescue one and then they have done good all round. I doubt the person who wants a Spanish horse will decide against getting one from Spain and instead adopt a hairy gypsy piebald from their local Redwings, .

quite- I like lusitanos and imported one. I am not about to go and give paddock room to a trad cob when I was after a lusitano. apples and oranges. (mine wasnt a rescue per se, he was cheap as part of a stud reduction and would have gone to slaughter). I have my own contacts out there, I wouldn't go through any of the 'organisations' that have sprung up to make a quick buck out of it. I am thinking of getting a rescue dog next time, I want a working bred setter-it will probably come from Ireland. I am not responsible for the welfare crisis nor am I contributing to it.

 

[Merlod]

But the majority of UK rescues are full of hairy cobs, small and poor quality animals usually unbroken who are dumped or neglected by travellers (seriously just check the RSPCA rehoming). So really we're mopping up their mess and due to the sheer quantity of these animals flooding the rescues they are taking the places of more desirable/adoptable horses that would bring variety to a rescue centre for example outgrown childrens pony, retired eventers, happy hackers or owner rehoming due to emigration/old age/death.

It's cruel but I think if rescues concentrated on rehoming more desirable types of horses like I have previously mentioned they would have a higher turnaround and therfore be able to rescue and rehome more horses instead of turning them away to fill up with cobs that nobody seems to want

 

[MotherOfChickens]

But the majority of UK rescues are full of hairy cobs, small and poor quality animals usually unbroken who are dumped or neglected by travellers (seriously just check the RSPCA rehoming). So really we're mopping up their mess and due to the sheer quantity of these animals flooding the rescues they are taking the places of more desirable/adoptable horses that would bring variety to a rescue centre for example outgrown childrens pony, retired eventers, happy hackers or owner rehoming due to emigration/old age/death.

It's cruel but I think if rescues concentrated on rehoming more desirable types of horses like I have previously mentioned they would have a higher turnaround and therfore be able to rescue and rehome more horses instead of turning them away to fill up with cobs that nobody seems to want

agreed-but none of the major charities will just come out and say it like it is.

And then one of them shoots some very nicely bred Arabs that had homes available to them.

 

[lelly]

This is something I have been saying for a long time. Why are all the horses being brought over here any better than horses that we already have and how do you know that the stories that come along with them are true. I know we have an abundance of gypsy cobs but we also have other breeds needing homes. As for the dogs, we are putting loads to sleep daily and not just staffies.

 

[Ladyinred]

Cant do your link, WeeLassie but I think you mean animal heaven animal rescue? Yes they send loads of dogs to Alllsorts where their page says its for dogs found in Sussex, no mention of them coming from Ireland. Wouldnt be surprised if they send horses over too, not right IMHO as our charities here really cant take any more, even deserving cases.

That would be the one who rehomed a very difficult dog to my 17 year old niece, without a home check... Disaster!

 

[Merlod]

agreed-but none of the major charities will just come out and say it like it is.

And then one of them shoots some very nicely bred Arabs that had homes available to them.

Yes I remeber - that was an absolute joke - there were homes waiting for those arabs and they pts! I hate to say one life is worth more than another but in reality there isn't the demand for the cobs that are filling the rescues, perhaps they should be given a time limit or an assesment upon rescue of whether they are feesable to rehome then should be PTS.. not nice but the only way we are going to get out of this horse crisis..

 

[Dobiegirl]

That would be the one who rehomed a very difficult dog to my 17 year old niece, without a home check... Disaster!

What rescue was that ladyinred and what happened?

 

[AmyMay]

I chose to rescue 2 dogs from Romania. Have you any idea how badly they are treated over there? And the conditions of the state run pounds? Battersea dogs home it certainly isn't. Yes there are animals needing homes in the UK. But most rescue centres here are luxury compared to how the animals live in Eastern Europe. Also I have no interest in adopting a staffie, seeing as they make up a huge percentage of the dogs needing homes, should I just not have bothered adopting a rescue dog at all? Same with the horse situation. People want a Spanish horse, they adopt a rescue one and then they have done good all round. I doubt the person who wants a Spanish horse will decide against getting one from Spain and instead adopt a hairy gypsy piebald from their local Redwings, it doesn't work like that. Better they help a rescue animal than buy one I say no matter where it originated from. I know one of the Irish Horse charities that send horses to the UK for rehoming always have nice children's ponies. Maybe there is demand for that here, definitely more so than there is in Ireland.

No one would begrudge your dogs they're wonderful home with you.

However, what back up did the organisation offer - so often it's none as it's a one man band operation with no ability to have dogs returned.

The same is more so for rescued horses. So many of which end up being passed from pillar to post

It's a contentious issue. But personally if I had a spare several hundred quid it would not go to importing rescues from abroad - it would go toward improving their situation in situ.

The number of dogs that go missing on arrival is also alarming.

 

[elliefiz]

Part of the problem here is charities are so strict on re homing. We enquired about re homing a dog we were refused on the grounds that the dog would be left alone 2 days a week for around 5 hours!

It doesn't sit well with me either to bring animals across when there are so many here and I'm afraid I've never had a positive meeting with an abused Romanian rescue dog....

You should meet my two, they are awesome. To know what they came from and the difference in their life now, overwhelms me at times. As with any dog that has come from a difficult background, they need someone who has experience with dogs. But given that fighting dogs can be successfully rehabilitated to become family pets, there would be no reason why a street dog couldn't, given time and patience.

I agree regarding the horses currently in rescue. There was a big appeal last year for horses in Bracknell who were being kept in really dire conditions. All gypsy cobs who had been inbreeding for years as left to their own devices. The horses got taken into rescue and I remember thinking at the time that they should all have just been PTS as the kindest way of dealing with things. There was a huge number of them and I have no idea who will give them permanent homes going forward. Despite being a horse lover, I'm also a realist and have no requirement or desire for an ugly field ornament that costs a fortune to keep and I say that as someone without the worry of paying livery, etc.

 

[elliefiz]

No one would begrudge your dogs they're wonderful home with you.

However, what back up did the organisation offer - so often it's none as it's a one man band operation with no ability to have dogs returned.

The same is more so for rescued horses. So many of which end up being passed from pillar to post

It's a contentious issue. But personally if I had a spare several hundred quid it would not go to importing rescues from abroad - it would go toward improving their situation in situ.

The number of dogs that go missing on arrival is also alarming.

I am still very good friends with the ladies within the group that brought my dogs over. They have always been very helpful and I imagine any problems would have been dealt with as they will take the dog back if yo can no longer keep it for whatever reason. I didn't have any major problems with mine so never needed any help thankfully! Unfortunately the problems arise with well meaning people taking on more than they can deal with, same with any situation I suppose. The guidelines Are v strict regarding early handling of the dog and socialising it etc, it's when people don't follow these guidelines that they run into trouble.

 

[keri66]

It's also the sick and lame which they spend a fortune on with no hope of rehoming.
Rescues need to be more objective.

 

[stormox]

I agree Keri66- I stood for hours in the freezing cold collecting for a rescue, only that evening to read on their FB (sob stories to get funds)page they had spent a lot of money on a rabbit with mixamatosis which was now in intensive care at the vets (it died). I wasnt going to waste any more time and energy fundraising for them again!

 

[WelshD]

crikey. like taking coals to Newcastle

 

[Luci07]

Aa

I chose to rescue 2 dogs from Romania. Have you any idea how badly they are treated over there? And the conditions of the state run pounds? Battersea dogs home it certainly isn't. Yes there are animals needing homes in the UK. But most rescue centres here are luxury compared to how the animals live in Eastern Europe. Also I have no interest in adopting a staffie, seeing as they make up a huge percentage of the dogs needing homes, should I just not have bothered adopting a rescue dog at all? Same with the horse situation. People want a Spanish horse, they adopt a rescue one and then they have done good all round. I doubt the person who wants a Spanish horse will decide against getting one from Spain and instead adopt a hairy gypsy piebald from their local Redwings, it doesn't work like that. Better they help a rescue animal than buy one I say no matter where it originated from. I know one of the Irish Horse charities that send horses to the UK for rehoming always have nice children's ponies. Maybe there is demand for that here, definitely more so than there is in Ireland.

I need to correct you on several wrong assumptions you have made and also to defend the poor Stafford. Firstly, Battersea cannot take on every dog that needs help and we are physically unable to deal with the vast number of unwanted dogs in this country. If you genuinely believe that every unwanted dog will find a space like Battersea, you are sadly very very wrong. Estimates stand that around 80 healthy dogs are PTS every single day in the UK alone. Secondly, there are very very few proper Staffords in rescue. They are a small breed and are subject to appalling cross and backstreet breeding. A correct Stafford dog is a max of 16" at the shoulder and a bitch is only 14". If you particularly wanted a specific breed then there are a lot of breed rescues around. My first 2 Staffords are true to type and the latter 2 would be deemed to be crosses.

It's a lovely thing to help animals overseas, but please PLEASE don't do it believing we have our own rescue situation sorted out over here. I can't comment on the equine side as I want to compete and have bought accordingly.

 

[happyclappy]

As sad as it is for horses from other countries, I do agree, we have more than enough to care for here in the UK.Dogs too.