Bored teens blamed for animal cruelty
BORED teens are suspected to be behind two cases of animal cruelty in Maryborough.
An ibis had to be euthanised after it was shot through with an arrow, while a Maryborough horse owner was left distraught when she found her beloved filly almost suffocated after offenders broke into her paddock around 2am on New Year's Eve.
A rope was tied so closely around the neck of two-year-old filly Polly that owner Averyll Loft had to saw it off.
Ms Loft believed the offenders were not familiar with horses and had tried to tie up Polly in an effort to climb on her back.
She said the unbroken horse would have pulled away, causing the rope to tighten around her neck.
Polly's face had swollen to almost twice its normal size when Ms Loft checked on her horses the next day.
"Another few hours and she would have suffocated," she said.
Another horse in the paddock, located in Maryborough West, was also injured after becoming tangled in a fence in the same incident.
RSPCA regional inspector Amanda Yates said the charity had seen a big increase in similar cases over the past few months, and especially during the Christmas break.
"Unfortunately, it seems to coincide with school holidays," she said.
Ms Yates said the injured ibis, which was found in a gully near Rocky St, would have been shot a couple of days before it was discovered on Wednesday.
Ms Yates urged anyone who might have seen something to phone the RSPCA on 1300 852 188.
