Shocking footage has emerged of a woman repeatedly striking a horse at the North Otago A&P Show, held in Oamaru.
The video, obtained by Otago Daily Times, shows a woman striking and kicking a horse for more than a minute, only stopping once a bystander intervened.
The incident was filmed last Friday afternoon, before the North Otago A&P Show over the weekend - in a reduced capacity due to COVID-19.
Animal welfare group SAFE are calling for the incident and the rider to be investigated.
"It was a disgrace really," SAFE spokesperson Will Appelbe tells Newshub.
"There's absolutely no excuse to treat an animal like this. Just recently we saw the video emerge of [Sir] Mark Todd repeatedly whip a horse. That's a world-famous athlete, and he drew swift condemnation.
"You'd think by now they'd know better, but it's completely unacceptable to treat an animal that way.
"It doesn't matter whether you're a world famous athlete or a complete unknown, it's completely unacceptable to beat animals this way."
The SPCA has since confirmed to Newshub that MPI is investigating the incident.
The rider took part in one event at the A&P Show, before being shown a yellow card and stood down from competition for the rest of the weekend.
"The North Otago A&P Show in no way condones the actions of this person," show secretary Katrina Kelly told Otago Daily Times.
Kelly also declined to name the rider involved.
The incident occurred just weeks after New Zealand Olympian Sir Mark Todd came under fire for striking a horse during a training session in Scotland.
Sir Mark escaped disciplinary action, after the footage surfaced more than six months after the incident took place - falling outside the timeframe required to be punished under Scottish law.
