The owner of a horse which impaled itself on a fence while trying to flee from fireworks has been left devastated at its death.
The 6-year-old Irish sports horse known as Harry became impaled on a wooden post after trying to leap over a five foot hedge ar Bryn Celyn, Holywell, last month when two fireworks were set off in its field.
The terrified animal was found the next day by livery yard staff with the post still piercing its back left thigh.
But after nearly a month of raising funds for vet bills and rehabilitation, owner Laura Roberts was forced to put Harry to sleep on Wednesday, November 28, after he laid down and couldn't get back up again.
Speaking with Metro , owner Laura said: "We tried to help him for five hours straight but every time he tried to move, he was just making more of a mess of his leg and was clearly in pain. It was like he knew it was time to give up and just couldn’t fight anymore so we decided that it wasn’t fair to put him through any more pain."
The effect fireworks have on animals:
The livery yard in North Wales said that each year it left lights and radios on three weeks before Bonfire Night in an attempt to settle its dogs and horses, but the two fireworks were so loud the petrified horse attempted to flee the noise and then lay in what is thought to have been severe pain until 1pm when he was found.
Now Laura and livery yard owner Lily Roberts, on whose property Harry was being kept, are calling for a ban on firework sales to the general public.
"I am sick of seeing animals and humans suffer unnecessarily for these things. There are so many fantastic free fireworks displays around - stop setting them off in your back garden," said Lily.
Heartbroken Laura added: "Harry was so kind and sensible, he’s not the kind of horse that would bolt over a hedge so he must have been literally petrified by the noise."
RSPCA inspector Jenny Anderton, who aided with the animal's rescue, agreed, saying: "This incident really does show what the effects of fireworks can be and we urge people to be mindful of the animals around them when setting fireworks off."
