Healesville locals have expressed their disgruntlement with a putrid smell wafting through the air.
This smell belongs to the body of a horse which was left in the paddock to rot for days since its death.
The horse was reported to have been malnourished and ill-treated before it died.
Concerned Healesville local Alex was visiting a friend when he noticed the horse in a nearby paddock. Alex also picked up on a gaping wound on the horse’s left front leg.
“When I saw how gruesome the wound was, I was afraid and my conscience prompted me to call the RSPCA and send them photos of the horse’s condition,” Alex said.
“I called RSPCA later to enquire about their response …but was only given the most brief details that the situation was now a priority,” he said.
“They claimed that due to legal stance they were not prepared to say what the outcome was likely to be or what the owner was like.”
The property where the horse lived lies along the Maroondah Highway near the 7-Eleven.
Alex suggested that the horse’s owner was home infrequently and that originally there were two horses on the property.
The cause of the horse’s death is still unknown.
Alex said, “I think that last Monday the horse was led to the driveway entrance and put down either by the RSPCA or by the owner.”
“The body was left in situ,” he said.
Whether the horse was euthanised by the owner or the RSPCA, responsibility for the animal’s burial lies with the owner to arrange.
Alex said, “I have brought this sorry situation to the attention of the police, the council ranger and the council themselves in the hope of something being done.”
“The smell is atrocious and it behoves someone to do something in the interest of sanitation and health,” he said.
The RSPCA were contacted for comment.
