"This is a very distressing incident."

An investigation has been launched following the death of a horse in Cork this week. The horse was found on a roadway in an estate on the north side of the city on Tuesday evening. Gardaí were called to the scene at around 5pm by concerned residents at Hawthorn Mews on Dublin Hill. They have conducted door-to-door inquiries to try to find out who owned the horse. They confirmed that they are investigating whether the horse was involved in sulky racing before its death. There are concerns that it may have collapsed and been left in the road to die. Gardaí are calling on anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward in confidence. "This is a very distressing incident and we understand a lot of children would have been around at the time and may have come upon the poor animal as it lay dying on the road," a Garda source told The Irish Times. "We are certainly treating it very seriously and want to hear from anyone who can help us investigate what is a truly an appalling and shocking case of animal cruelty." In the wake of the incident, there have been calls for tighter restrictions on sulky racing. "It was the most disrespectful thing to do to an animal, it had collapsed from exhaustion," Workers' Party city councillor Ted Tynan told The Journal. "The treatment of the horses is my concern. They showed total disrespect, it was appalling. There’s not enough efforts being done."