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downsmail.co.uk


Horse welfare fears as owners feel pinch


THE leading animal welfare charity is predicting a rise in abandoned or neglected horses if the country is plunged into a post-pandemic slump. The Royal Society for the Pre-


Jennifer dies


after collapse A WOMAN has died after col- lapsing in a vehicle in Bearsted. The deceased, named locally as Jennifer Baker (52), died on Thursday, October 1. Police closed off the A20 Ash- ford Road between Cavendish Way and Roseacre Lane in both directions shortly after 10am. A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The woman was given emergency treatment prior to being taken to Maidstone Hospital in a serious condition. Our thanks goes to ev- eryone who assisted at the scene.” A Kent Police spokesman said: “Officers attended the scene where they assisted South East Coast Ambulance Service. The road was reopened at 11.25am.”


On board


DOWNS Mail editor Simon Fin- lay has been appointed to the board of Mail Publications Ltd, the newspaper’s publisher. Simon, 55, who has been with


the company since 2016, has had a 36 year career in local and na- tional newspapers and televi- sion.


The Belfast-born journalist has


spent the last two decades edit- ing weekly titles, inlcuding the Dover Express, Folkestone Her- ald and the Times of Tunbridge Wells.


He lives in Leeds with wife Lesley and have a daughter, Astrid, a 19-year-old politics stu- dent at Nottingham University.


Wildlife plea


HOLLINGBOURNE Meadows Trust is looking for volunteers to help protect the land and wildlife around the village.


The charity needs more people to get involved at all levels, from one- offs to regular involvement. Email hollingbournemeadowstrust@gmai l.com for more information.


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vention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) fears the anticipated worsening of the financial situa- tion will result in the charity being overwhelmed with un- wanted equines. After the last downturn in 2009, numbers of horses in its care rose from 250 to 1,200 after four years. The charity rehomed 242 ani- mals in 2019, but almost 760 re- main in the charity’s care to date, desperately needing new homes. It is now urging people who are


looking to take on a horse to think about adopting one from the charity.


In March to September, the RSPCA dealt with more than 250 horse-related cases RSPCA chief executive Chris


Sherwood said autumn will cre- ate “the perfect storm”, as grazing decreases, the end of the furlough scheme and owners under pres- sure with costs of taking care of their horses.


He added: “This leads to ne- glect and abandonment, yet peo- ple have been continuing to breed horses despite COVID-19. “Alongside this, equine rescues, already reporting a sharp drop in funds, may start to go under as the financial situation bites, which will increase the burden on the RSPCA. “We are calling on the Govern-


ment to step in with financial sup- port as they have for other charities affected by the pan- demic, and to recognise that the vital services provided by the an-


Duchess ‘amazed’ by Tony’s charity efforts


THE Duchess of Cambridge has praised five-year-old amputee Tony Hudgell (pictured), who walked six miles in 30 days. The Discovery School pupil, who


had to have his legs amputated as a result of abuse from his biologi- cal parents, raised £1,073,121 for Evelina London Children’s Hospital in just one month. The duchess wrote a letter con-


gratulating Tony on his “amazing” efforts and said his achievement was “hugely appreciated”. Tony initially set out to raise


£500 for the hospital that saved his life by walking 10km, but his in- spiring efforts captured the hearts of tens of thousands of people. The letter reads: “I wanted to


send you my congratulations fol- lowing your amazing fundraising efforts last month. “It was wonderful to hear how


you were inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore's story to carry out your own walk. I am very im- pressed that you carried on, even after reaching your target of 10km. “I know that your efforts have


been hugely appreciated by Evelina, and we are all so proud of what you have achieved. “I hope that you manage to


have a very well-deserved rest be- fore starting on your next adven- ture, whatever that may be.”


imal welfare sector are under huge strain.”


New legislation demanding compulsory microchipping of all horses irrespective of age is set to come into effect in England this month. Currently around 70% of the horses rescued by the charity are not microchipped. Mr Sherwood said: “When the law came in for dogs, the number of strays reduced by 20% in four years, but we just don’t think that’s going to happen for horses. Without rigorous enforcement and tough financial penalties, there is little to stop irresponsible horse owners continuing to breed and dump animals.” Go to www.rspca.org.uk to find out how you can adopt a horse or pony.


County town


‘less happy’ LIFE satisfaction is on the way down in Maidstone, ac- cording a new Office for Na- tional Statistics (ONS) survey.


Across the county, content- edness is up to 7.74 in 2018-19 from 7.68 out of 10 in 2017-18. But the county town, with a score of 7.61, is the fourth least happy place in Kent, with only Canterbury, Med- way and Thanet less satisfied with their lot.


Local authorities use data such as this to tap into the mood of their council taxpay- ers.


National trends such as un- employment can impact on an area, but local factors may also feed into the mood. For instance, life satisfac- tion in Maidstone may be af- fected by rising traffic levels, the massive housebuilding programme and high pollu- tion levels.


The happiest borough is Tonbridge


and Malling,


whose residents scored it 8.1, closely followed by Folke- stone & Hythe (8.08).


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