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Home / World

Sydney anti-lockdown protest: 'Awful' - police horse punched by protestor

news.com.au
24 Jul, 2021 05:00 PM2 mins to read

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Deemed as one of the more horrific photos from today's protests, the image of the horse being punched caused mass outrage on social media. Photo / Supplied

Deemed as one of the more horrific photos from today's protests, the image of the horse being punched caused mass outrage on social media. Photo / Supplied

It's the photo that's outraged the nation.

The moment a horse, named Tobruk, was photographed allegedly being punched by a man wearing yellow in the midst of chaotic anti-lockdown protest scenes in Sydney's CBD.

The image went viral in minutes, with NSW Police sharing the photo to Facebook where it received more than 48k likes and almost 30k comments within two hours of posting.

Protestor punches a police horse in Sydney. I have no words!

NSW Police have appealed for assistance to locate this man. pic.twitter.com/gNBCsvGZl8

— Tim Hatfield (@timhatfield87) July 24, 2021
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Deemed as one of the more horrific photos from today's protests, the image of the horse being punched caused mass outrage on social media.

With thousands demanding an update on the horse's health, NSW Police confirmed on the image, which was first shared by the Sydney Morning Herald, that Tobruk the horse was not injured.

In a separate post, the NSW Mounted Police Facebook account shared an image of Tobruk snug in his stable in Sydney after his turbulent day at work.

"Our beautiful brave Tobruk safe and uninjured after his awful encounter today," the post read.

"Thank you again everyone for your words of support."

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Deemed as one of the more horrific photos from today's protests, the image of the horse being punched caused mass outrage on social media. Photo / Supplied
Deemed as one of the more horrific photos from today's protests, the image of the horse being punched caused mass outrage on social media. Photo / Supplied

NSW Police are calling for information on the man photographed in the photo, with anyone who can provide information to contact police immediately.

NSW Police have released additional images which show the chaotic scenes from today's violent protests.

Broken glass bottles littered streets, and one police officer was shown to be covered in ink after a clash with an objector.

Authorities are now trawling through photos and footage on social media to identify the 3500-something participants.

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