Horse sanctuary for Benvardin premises?

David Wilson of the USPCA revealed to the Times that the kennel facility at the former Causeway Safari Park will close in the next few days but he said the charity will continue to lease the property with a view to setting up a facility to deal with horses.

He said the horse scheme is still in planning and will be contingent on funding being available and he was unable to give an estimated timescale for the opening such a centre if it gets the green light.

But if the horse rescue centre does not go-ahead it could bring to an end the connection between animals and the Benvardin site which has stretched back decades.

Thousands of people visited the Causeway Safari Park over the years before it closed over 15 years ago and the USPCA stepped in help re-home animals.

The USPCA then used the facilities as kennels and stray dogs and canines which had to be kept ahead of court cases for things like badger-baiting were also kept at Benvardin.

But because of the costs involved at the centre like water rates and heating and lighting the USPCA is moving its kenneling service to another facility in the Newry area to concentrate resources.

Councils like Coleraine and Moyle used Benvardin to keep stray dogs and the vast majority were reclaimed by their owners or re-homed.

David Wilson said: "With effect from the end of the month the site at Benvardin will be mothballed and our dog re-homing service will continue from near Newry. Benvardin had been an extraordinary cost to be used for holding just a few dogs."

He said the USPCA moved in to the Benvardin site to help rescue exotic animals which were at risk after the Safari Park closed and over the years they have been re-homed elsewhere.

The famous chimp Pete who smoked butts thrown into his cage along with another chimp Freddie were rehomed in a sanctuary in Wales.

Mr Wilson said they will continue to lease the site at Benvardin whilst the possibility of an equine rescue centre is looked at.

"We are investigating the possibility of using the site as an equine sanctuary because there is a huge problem on the island of Ireland with horses being mis-treated," he said.

Horse welfare is in crisis in Northern Ireland, with the only existing equine sanctuary in the province saying they are getting reports of as many as six neglect cases a day.

Crosskennan Animal Sanctuary in Antrim says that is a rise of 150% since the recession started.

Animal rights campaigners argue in this economic climate, horses are particularly vulnerable as they are so expensive to keep.

Like housing during the recession, the horse market has effectively collapsed.

What was once a very valuable commodity has lost its value and with breeding continuing, the surplus of unwanted horses has reached an unmanageable level.

"Horses are being abandoned left, right and centre due to the economic downturn," vet Liam Fitzsimons said.

"Horses are now relatively valueless, so instead of 'overwintering' a horse, people are just abandoning them on the roadside or on other people's fields."

Mr Fitzsimons says another problem is that horses are not being properly micro-chipped.

"Horses are supposed to be 'pass-ported' and micro-chipped.

However, there is no-one to police this and I would say only a small proportion of horses are micro-chipped and therefore traceable to their owners," he added.

Animal rights campaigner Janice Watt says things have become unimaginably bad.

"Welfare is moving backwards instead of forwards and the animals are suffering as a result.

"Horses are such expensive animals to keep which is one reason why they are being abandoned and neglected," she said.

A new Animal Welfare Bill is currently going through the Assembly which the Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew says will improve the problem.

"There is an acceptance that the legislation is out of date but what we're bringing to the assembly is fit for purpose, will protect domestic animals, companion animals, horses and those animals which are out of the farmed animals bracket."

However, the fear among animal welfare campaigners is that the law will not go far enough.