The Minister for Justice has strongly condemned a sulky race that allegedly took place over the weekend after footage showed one horse being "whipped aggressively".
The incident reportedly took place on the M3 motorway, near Junction 4 to Clonee, on the border between Dublin and Meath.
A video of the three-horse race, filmed from a car following behind the sulkies, has been circulated on social media.
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Animal welfare group 'Animal Law Ireland' re-shared the footage on Twitter on Sunday morning, writing: "3 horse harness race (sulky race) on the M3 this morning on the @meathcoco @Fingalcoco border.
"1 horse being whipped aggressively. If you saw this race, contact Gardaí."
Minister for Justice Simon Harris responded to the footage online calling it "horrific abuse" of animals.
Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Minister Harris wrote: "I have seen online video of an appalling incident of 3 horse harness race/sulky race on the M3 this morning. Horrific abuse of animals and a major danger to motorists.
"If anyone has any information on this, please report it to Gardai to ensure this can be fully pursued."
Animal Law Ireland replied to Minister Harris' Tweet, writing: "Thank you for calling out this video.
"These races are happening on the M3 on a regular basis. There are no cameras on the stretch of road used.
"Races used to be common on the N7, but Gardaí carried out regular patrols to deter.
"These races happen in many locations in [Ireland]."
The Irish Mirror have contacted Gardai in relation to the incident.
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