Man charged over death of 13 horses

THE charges follow a Biosecurity Queensland investigation earlier this year.

A man will face court after a number of dead and malnourished horses were found on a property near Toowoomba.

A MAN has been charged over the death of 13 horses, found on a property near Charlton earlier this year.

"(He) has been charged with offences under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 and has been summonsed to appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on September 21," a Biosecurity Queensland spokesman said.

"This relates to the deaths of 13 horses, and the standard of care for another eight on a property near Toowoomba, which were investigated by Biosecurity Queensland earlier this year."

A neighbour reported the incident to the RSPCA, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission in January, after seeing a number of horses in poor condition.

Members of the QRIC visited the property and found that seven were ex-racehorses.

Biosecurity Queensland began their investigation shortly after, having found dead and emaciated horses on the property.

Executive Director of Animal Liberation Qld Chay Neal said he was pleased to hear charges had been laid. 

"While we don't yet know the exact nature of the charges, we certainly welcome the decision by Biosecurity Queensland to proceed with animal cruelty charges," Mr Neal said.

"This case has been of strong public interest - with hundreds of people expressing outrage on social media earlier this year and almost 4500 supporters emailing the minister with their concerns.

"For some time now we have been pushing for increased animal cruelty prosecutions for cases related to horses and farmed animals"