NEAS volunteer Ciaran Whelan with the seven-week-old foal whose mother died after vandals went on a rampage at the centre

Rescued mare dies following vandal attack

Just six weeks after a mobile home at the National Exotic Animal Sanctuary (NEAS), Coolronan, Ballivor, was destroyed, vandals have struck again - this time ripping down gates and fences and chasing the rescued donkeys and horses.
Their actions resulted in a tragic outcome after a mare became trapped in a drainage ditch, and despite volunteers spending eight hours in the mud and water trying to free her, the mare’s heart gave out just as they were about to lift her from the ditch.
The mare left behind a seven week-old foal which will now have to be hand-reared at the centre.
NEAS manager Kevin Cunningham explained there have been ongoing problems with vandalism. Around six weeks ago, a mobile home at the sanctuary for volunteers to stay over while hand-rearing animals was “completely destroyed”.
Among the 400 animals cared for at the 28-acre sanctuary were 36 horses and donkeys which were in outlying fields.
On Tuesday night, 7th July, gates to a paddock were ripped down and two lines of fencing were torn off poles. Mr Cunningham said the rescue horses and donkeys were scattered around places they shouldn’t have been and one of the mares went into a deep drainage ditch and sank up to her neck.
Mr Cunningham believes the animals must have been “ran” and said they couldn’t have ended up where they did of their own accord.
Volunteers spent eight hours in the mud and water trying to free the mare’s legs. Just as they had her free and machinery had arrived to lift her out, Mr Cunningham said her heart stopped.
“If it was five minutes later, she would have been OK. We tried to revive her but she was gone and there was nothing we could do,” he added.
Mr Cunningham said the sanctuary’s volunteers are trying to keep their motivation up and are working with very little and trying to do so much.
“When somebody intentionally does damage to animals, it is hard to be stoic. She was a beautiful mare. She shouldn’t be dead. She should have had sanctuary in a sanctuary,” he said.