Former teacher to appear in court accused of hitting and kicking horse in Lincolnshire
She was sacked after video footage emerged last month
A primary school teacher has been charged with 2 counts of animal cruelty after footage was found taken at a hunt in Lincolnshire.
Primary school teacher Sarah Moulds, 37, was fired from her post at the Mowbray Education Trust in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, last month after footage was shared online showing a woman repeatedly slapping the animal when it ran into the road.
The RSPCA has since confirmed a prosecution case has been brought against the former teacher and she is due to appear in Boston Magistrates' Court on Monday.
In a statement issued this week, a spokesperson from the organisation said Ms Moulds has been accused of two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 against a grey pony named Bruce.
The RSPCA will allege the 37-year-old woman caused "unnecessary suffering" to Bruce by "kicking and hitting" him, and for not taking reasonable steps to "protect the animal from pain, suffering, injury or disease".
Both of the alleged offences against the grey pony occurred on November 6, 2021, in the vicinity of 'The Drift' Gunby, Lincolnshire.
At the time Ms Moulds had been participating in The Cottesmore Hunt - one of Britain's oldest foxhound packs.
The footage from the incident was investigated by the RSPCA after anti-hunting activists, the Hertfordshire Hunt Saboteurs, posted it to Twitter. At the time, the animal charity described it as "really upsetting" and urged anyone with information to come forward.
Following public outcry over the video, Ms Moulds was suspended and then sacked by Mowbray Education Trust,
She was also removed from a voluntary position at her local branch at the pony club, while the Cottesmore Hunt said a "thorough internal investigation" had meant a "follower will not participate in trail hunting" with them.