DASTARDLY ACT OF CRUELTY TO A PONY.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1261, 29 January 1883, Page 2

DASTARDLY ACT OF CRUELTY TO A PONY.

With reference to the horrible act of cruelty to Sir James Prendergast’s pony, to which we alluded in our leader on Saturday last, the “ New Zealand Times ” thus expresses itself “ A dastardly act was perpetrated last night week. Some person entered the stable of Sir James Prendergast; and deliberately cut out nearly the whole of the tongue of one of the ponies standing in it The animal is one of the most docile and inoffensive of its kind, and the injury is therefore likely to have been inflicted for the purpose of causing loss to its owner, There is yet no clue to the perpetrator; but it is to be hoped that ho will not escape the severe punishment which he so richly deserves. The real facts of the case had been kept quiet for a time in the hope that the perpetrator of the outaage might be discovered. The facts, which we are now at liberty to relate, are these: The pony, a chesnut gelding, used for saddle purposes, waa turned out in the paddock between 680 and 7 p.m. The paddock, it may be mentioned, is some LOO yards distant from the stable, and the entrance thereto is through an iron gate, which is not readily swung open, except by those who know the way. On the morning after the pony had been turned out to graze, the groom (W. Sanders), on getting np, found the pony, not in the paddock as he expected, but standing close to the stable door, having evidently been driven up there. He saw at once that there was something peculiar about the animal, and on inspection found that its mouth was full of blood. Putting hie fingers in behind the teeth he found a mass of clotted blood, and, alarmed at this, he made further inspection, and found that the tongue of the pony had been cut out close to the root. On this discovery being made instant search was made for traces of the culprit but none were discoverable. A few drops of blood were found about five yards from the gate, but the most dilhgent search failra to discover the missing tongue. It was evident, however, that no single individual could have done the deed. The pony is of lively disposition, somewhat difficult to catch, except to those to whom it is well accustomed, and the inference is that two or more individuls bailed the pony up and committed the outrage, for what reason none can tell yet, except as surmised in a fit of petty revenge against Sir James Prendergast for some duty performed in his high judicial capacity. The pony, we may add, is still alive and thriving. Mr Beaton, the well-known vet., of Lamb-ton-quay, has it under his care, and is in hopes that his patients will pull through.