A young pony has been stabbed to death at a horse sanctuary in County Longford.
The Hungry Horse Outside sanctuary says someone broke into its yard on Wednesday night and killed the one-year-old animal "in the most brutal way."
The sanctuary is appealing for information on what it says was a "calculated and planned" attack.
Gardaí have opened an animal cruelty investigation and confirmed that the young foal suffered knife wounds.
In a statement, the sanctuary said it had "witnessed something we never imagined we would".
It described the attack as the "lowest of the low" and "really incomprehensible".
Hungry Horse Outside is appealing to anyone with information about the attack to make contact with it or Gardai.
