A large proportion of the 100 horses rescued from floodwaters in Friesland last week will end up being slaughtered for food, news agency ANP reports.

The owners of the half-wild herd breed the horses for both food and for sale to private owners, vet Marten de Vries told the news agency.
Animal rights political party, Partij voor de Dieren, has set up a fund to save the horses. ‘The whole world watched their rescue from death by drowning and it is unacceptable for them now to undergo a long journey and disappear into an Italian abbatoir,’ said a PvdD spokesman.