Twenty-five horses have been removed from an Aberdeenshire farm by staff from World Horse Welfare.
The charity was alerted by a member of the public that the animals were not being cared for and found a number of dead bodies as well as mares, stallions and foals at an undisclosed location.
The horses were removed on 22 May and a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal (the body responsible for bringing criminal prosecutions in Scotland).
World Horse Welfare vet Ramsay Duncan said: “Most of the horses had a body score of one, they were very thin. They also had long cracked feet and were infested with lice and worms.”
The animals have been signed over to the charity so no further action will be taken over their welfare, but it is not known yet whether legal action will be taken over the failure to dispose properly of the dead horses.