Anger over video of horse being whipped and manhandled during Appleby Horse Fair

‘Heartbreaking’ footage of a horse being manhandled in the street and beaten during the Appleby Horse Fair has led to calls for the event to be cancelled.

A riding instructor has started a petition in response to an ‘overwhelming’ number of reports of animal mistreatment at Europe’s largest Traveller festival.

But members of the Traveller community say they shouldn’t be tarred with the same brush based on one video.

The RSPCA said the fair in Appleby was ‘a positive one’ overall with the number of people given advice and warnings about animal welfare falling significantly.

The video shows several men hopping off and on the horse, dragging it by the neck and nearly riding it into a wall.

People on social media described it as ‘disgusting’ and ‘utterly horrifying’ and expressed doubts that authorities would ‘lift a single finger’ in response.

Carol Wattel commented: ‘This is just a foal and is far too young to be backed.

‘As an equestrian this really breaks my heart as this baby is now traumatised for the rest of its life.’

Allison Metcalf said: ‘It’s a baby that’s so heartbreaking to see it’s petrified of them.’

A Change.org petition calling on the fair to be cancelled fetched almost 2,000 signatures in a few days.

Riding instructor Pam Richardson, who started the petition, told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s not just a one off thing. I’m sick of seeing, every year, reports of cruelty to animals. It’s just overwhelming.

‘The fact that Appleby has to have 34 RSPCA officers there is just unreasonable.’

The Norfolk based instructor for the British Horse Society said: ‘Everybody wants to wash their hands of it but the horses are suffering.’

If the petition reaches 2,500 signatures it’ll be sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who have responsibilities for animal welfare.

Ian Wright taught his kids how to prepare for racism: 'Things need to be spoken about'

It isn’t a licensed event and is coordinated by a number of public sector bodies rather than one central organisation.

Cumbria Police said they are working with the RSPCA to trace the people in the video and asked people to report crime to them directly rather than over social media.

Around 10,000 Travellers and Gypsies meet to socialise and buy and sell horses at the annual event which has been running for at least 300 years.

People who’ve attended the fair for years say claims of animal cruelty are overhyped.

Debi Bateson-Brown said: ‘I’ve been for the last 10 years and have not seen any [animal abuse].

‘Only well kept clean, washed, fed watered and exercised working horses enjoying what they do.

‘I too am a horse owner and seen worse cruelty on local yards and at local shows.

‘My gypsy friends are some of the nicest friendliest and definitely the most knowledgeable about horses.’

Stacey Morgan added: ‘You are letting a very small minority of people cloud your judgement.

‘Most Travellers look after their horses very well, they are their livelihood, some are extremely expensive.

‘Not all Travellers abuse their horses but obviously when you get a huge group of people together, thousands in fact, you may get the odd one.

Woman reveals how she accidentally killed classmate with javelin

‘You can’t judge an entire community on the acts of one or two people.

‘I’ve seen other Travellers there turn on a young lad for how he was with his horse.’

The RSPCA said this year’s Appleby Horse Fair was ‘a positive one’ with fewer people being warned about mistreatment.

They said 131 people were given animal welfare advice during the five day event, the lowest figure since 2010 and down 198 from last year.

The number of warnings at the fair, which finished on Monday, dropped from 14 to five.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Rob Melloy said: ‘There have been a couple of incidents posted on social media, which we’re aware of and have either dealt with or are dealing with, but on the whole this year’s fair has been a positive one.

‘We, and our partner animal welfare charities, have a significant presence at the fair, and this year’s team was the biggest yet, but we can’t be everywhere and inevitably, despite our best efforts, there will be things that we just don’t see.’