An anti-hunting group captured the incident on Saturday. Photo / Twitter / Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs
An anti-hunting group captured the incident on Saturday. Photo / Twitter / Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs
A British primary school teacher has been stood down after a video showed footage of her kicking a horse and slapping it in the face.
Teacher Sarah Moulds, from Leicestershire in the UK, has since gone into hiding and received multiple death threats after her actions led to nationwide outrage.
In the video, she is seen kicking the horse between the front legs, slapping it across the face and nose, before roughly pulling the horse into its trailer.
Mowbray Education Trust said in a statement: "We can confirm that a member of staff has been suspended pending a formal investigation into an incident that occurred at the weekend.
"We will not be making any further comment while the investigation is in progress."
Moulds, who was a team organiser of the local pony club, has since been removed from her role.
The footage, taken by hunt saboteurs on Saturday, has sparked widespread outrage. Photo / Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs / Twitter
A spokesperson from the club said: "We are aware of the video circulating showing unacceptable treatment of a pony and we wholeheartedly condemn this behaviour.
"The welfare of horses and ponies is of the utmost importance to The Pony Club, therefore the lady in question has been removed from her voluntary position as a team organiser for a branch."
One source who knows Moulds told the Sun that things have now gotten out of hand and that Moulds, who is a mother, fears for her family's safety.
An anti-hunting group captured the incident on Saturday. Photo / Twitter / Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs
"She's had to go away after receiving death threats and loads of vile abuse.
"It's awful and has got very much out of hand. She fears for her life.
"She has young children and she is worried about them as well as herself.
"She's well known and respected in equestrian circles and her social media was bombarded with comments from very angry people after the video went viral and she's now had to close it down."
The footage prompted widespread outrage on social media, including from naturalist Chris Packahm, who called on the RSPCA to "urgently investigate and definitively prosecute this appalling abuse".
Zoologist and BBC Springwatch presenter Megan McCubbin said: "Yet another ugly side of an activity some call 'sport'."
