Episode 1 Animal 24:7

Britain's animals are under threat.

All too often, our wildlife and domestic pets are the victims

of cruelty, persecution and neglect.

Fighting to save them is a dedicated band of people,

trying to protect and care for them right around the clock.

This is Animal 24:7.

Today on Animal 24:7...

Whoa!

I join one of the most dangerous and unusual horse rescues ever staged in Britain.

When you see them all in here, you get a feeling for the power

of the horseflesh, the muscle and the weight of them. Got to be so careful.

In at the deep end -

the rescuers being given the bird by an injured swan.

Do you want to go for the direct-catch approach

and get both of us in there?

KNOCKING

There's one than one surprise in store for another RSPCA inspector.

Ooh, it's quite big, whatever it is.

Animal rescues are rarely straightforward

but today, I'm in Scotland to be involved in one of the toughest.

Somewhere in this landscape are over 100 horses

that have been running wild and pretty much uncared for, for years.

The problem is, they're now suffering. They need to be helped,

they need to be treated. But in order to do that,

they first need to be caught.

This is Morayshire, in the north-east of Scotland -

a haven for wildlife, it's one of the harshest environments for keeping farm animals.

But today, dozens of experts from the charity World Horse Welfare

are staging an extraordinary rescue mission.

The operation will involve more than 20 vets and will be coordinated

by Eileen Gillen.

It's all in response to a cry for help from a farmer

who can no longer cope.

We're here today because we have a situation

where we have herds of wild ponies.

The farmer knew himself he was in trouble.

He actually loves his ponies but it's totally got out of hand,

so therefore we decided that maybe we should stop, or curb,

the breeding as much as we possibly can.

This is where we are today.

If the herds were to continue for a few more years,

a, you will be possibly doubling the amount of ponies

and this year, we will have around 103.

But you will be actually straining on the genetic pool

and that is a big major welfare concern.

Field officer Jim Maxwell first discovered there was a problem 12 months ago.

It's taken much of the past year to plan today's operation.

Jim's all too aware of the risks which a wild horse can pose

if it's penned in.

It can rear, kick, they'll never have had anaesthetic before

so that is going to be a risk.

We just don't know so we need to be ready for every, er, possibility

that might happen.

This unique operation is all about stopping inbreeding.

There are fears some of these horses are suffering from genetic disorders

and unless action is taken, they'll continue to pass the defects on to future generations.

So the team from the Royal Veterinary School in Edinburgh

must castrate all the males, and to do this,

they've built their very own hospital at the farm.

This purpose-built corridor is a veterinary production line.

It's got to be tough cos some of these animals weigh close to half a tonne.

As they come through here, they'll get an injection for sedation.

Then at this point, they get split up, one at a time,

they come through here, get divided into males and females.

That's when the real operations begin.

It's the moment of truth, as the first horses are rounded up.

A group of ten are ushered towards the operating area,

through specially built fences.

So far, so good.

Up close, their size and power is obvious.

And they're not afraid to charge if they feel threatened.

At the third attempt, the stallion leads his family

behind the farm building and into the operating station...

There we go.

..where their nerves are clear to see.

Make sure that's closed, someone!

HORSE NEIGHS LOUDLY

Hup, hup, go on!

Hup, go on, go on. Hup, hup!

And immediately, the vets are on the back foot

as the stallion rears.

Whoa!

Despite that fence being seven foot high, he's desperate to escape.

You can really see why these need to be strong barriers.

I think the team are a bit worried cos there's a danger a horse can injure itself.

'It's a crucial few moments for Eileen and her team.

'The horses need to calm down.

'Suddenly, the stallion makes another escape bid.

'And has a heavy fall.

'It looks serious.

'But he's soon up, facing the wrong way.

'Eileen's team need to take control.'

That injection was a bit of sedation, crucial to calm everything down.

'After a few minutes, the sedation has kicked in.

'The one facing backwards can be led to the crush, where he's given a full anaesthetic...'

He's starting to go, he's starting to go.

Open it, open!

'..before being dragged to the operating field for a castration.'

We've never seen anything like this before.

That was a tricky one. He had faced the wrong way

but he managed to put himself right but he did fight the anaesthetic,

and as you see, many hands make light work.

And now the castration is taking place. This is where I exit,

because I'm not that good with needles!

While the stallion is the first to be castrated,

back in the assessment corridor, another horse has collapsed,

and it's more cause for concern for Eileen.

This is where we just don't know how they're going to react.

Some of them may take more sedations while others go down.

The horse's age and weight determine the amount of drugs they need.

But with no time to assess their condition,

the anaesthetists are guessing at the dosage, and this one has nodded off too soon.

It's quite a puzzle. How do you lift half a tonne of horse

that's gone down too early?

I tell you what, brute force doesn't do very much.

'It looks rough, but these horses are strong

'and with a queue of semi-sedated animals behind,

'there's no time to waste.

'This horse is safely pulled free via the side exit.

'But, having waited patiently, another stallion makes a bid for freedom.

'and becomes tangled in the fencing.'

This horse has momentarily calmed down

but it's been flailing those front legs in a dangerous-looking way.

One of its back legs is caught in the fence.

It's now quite a delicate operation to get it back on the ground.

'But eventually, with some firm action,

'Jim and his team bring the horse back down to earth.'

It's textbook, the way we righted it. Aye.

Of course, the anaesthetic helped!

So you're saying this is a bit calmer than they would be?

Absolutely. If they didn't have anaesthetic,

we probably wouldn't be able to handle them, and in a close space.

'But while the team and their powers of sedation are succeeding

'in the treatment area,

'the vets at the field hospital have found a complication in one of the stallions.'

What's the story with the operation here?

We've come across, in the first group,

what we term as a "rig".

This is where one of the testicles hasn't descended.

The veterinary team are working very hard to see if we can actually find

one of them that's been kept up in the abdomen.

'With one of the testicles retained in the body,

'this horse can't be castrated. This congenital defect is exactly

'the kind of evidence the team feared it might uncover.

'The vet can't afford to allow the horse to rejoin the herd

'as it would add to the problems with inbreeding.'

This is why we have to do this job,

because we cannot let this continue.

We've got to make sure the horse's welfare comes first here.

Finding a defect in the very first group of horses is devastating for Eileen.

And despite his best efforts,

vet Paddy Dixon simply can't solve the problem.

One of the testes is deep in his abdomen.

I've tried his canal, I can't get it out...

So you literally can't find where it is, you can't reach it?

We're going to have to make a decision on him.

If he's left, he's still fertile and passing on this defect.

'With little choice, Paddy the vet decides to put the horse to sleep.'

The breeding has to stop, we cannot keep letting rigs be born.

This is not a nice wild situation, this is serious.

All Eileen can do now is hope the condition hasn't spread

through the rest of the herd.

Still to come... Danger looms as horses literally pile up.

They've got a problem here - one of the horses is on top of one of the others.

They're not sure whether to pull the bottom one out

or lift the top one over the top.

One family finally finds out

exactly what's been chirping in their chimney.

OK...I now have it.

Often, the hardest part of helping animals

is to catch them in the first place.

A wild animal's first instinct is to shy away

from humans, for fear of coming to any harm.

That presents organisations like the RSPCA

with all sorts of challenges.

Close to the banks of the River Humber in Hull,

inspector Sarah Keith is reacting to a call

about an injured bird in a country park.

One of the park rangers has called us about a swan with an injury to one of its feet.

It's not weight-bearing on the foot.

It's on the edge of a lake, it's been on the bank all day.

There is a boat available to us if we need to use it.

I'm hoping we don't!

Sarah's not only worried about the bird's foot.

The bird is nesting and any unnecessary stress

could jeopardise its chances of breeding.

The swan's right leg, she's holding it up,

she's not attempting to use it to get off the nest.

It's in a bit of a funny position.

Normally that would be in the water at the moment

but I can't tell from here whether that's a break or what...

The foot looks in reasonable condition,

it doesn't look swollen or anything.

I wouldn't imagine... Sometimes if you get constriction from fishing wire, the whole foot swells up.

Eventually, it'll die and drop off.

At the moment, that just looks like it might have a break.

With an injury like this, the swan could be vulnerable to predators.

So, Sarah wants it checked over by a vet.

But her first challenge is to catch the swan.

Sarah's called in council workers Clifford Reddin and Lawrence Gill to help with the rescue.

The idea is, we'll get near enough to it for me to hook it

and get it in the boat and get it in the bag when we get back to shore.

Armed with her swan hook, Sarah tries to approach the bird

which she now thinks is the male of the pair.

But the swan's proving more elusive than she first thought.

So she'll need to resort to more drastic action.

We need to come back with our motor boat, really.

We won't catch it without an engine.

But it's still proved a useful fact-finding mission for Sarah.

It's not using the foot at all but the foot seems...it's dangling

but the bird can still move the leg, so whether it's a deformity

or whether it's an old injury,

we won't catch it without a motor boat because it's too fit.

The following day, Sarah is back at the park,

this time with a team of RSPCA colleagues

and a motor boat.

We're going to try and get the swan into one of the two areas

where the lake goes in, like that. Keira's going to stay on land,

I'm going to chase it from one side, she'll be at the other side,

and hopefully one of us will be able to grab it.

But with more than four years' experience as an RSPCA inspector,

Sarah knows that catching wildlife is a notoriously unpredictable business.

Her first job is to identify which of the pair is injured.

It's not that one!

The female is fit and well.

It's the male which has the problem.

His foot is trailing behind him.

It's clear to Sarah's colleague, Keira Wynne, that the male is struggling to take off.

It's just not getting the same height out of the water.

Keira thinks it's time for plan B.

Sarah! Do you want to go for the direct-catch approach

and get both of us in there?

With two inspectors on board, they're pinning their hopes on finally snaring the swan.

But it's got other ideas.

Still, Sarah's focusing on the positives.

The concern was that it couldn't fly, that the break was higher up,

when I saw him get off the nest yesterday.

But yesterday, we didn't have the motor, we couldn't get enough speed up

to see if he could use it enough to manage with it.

And that now has proved that he can cos he took off and flew off!

I think, from watching him move round the lake,

it's the foot that's the issue. Both joints seem to be working fine.

After two attempted rescues, Sarah's left with no choice but to pack up.

But then, there's an unexpected twist.

It actually landed on the field

and a member of the public's just managed to catch it.

The swan may have avoided the clutches of the RSPCA,

but it failed to evade passer-by Dave Harris.

It was making towards the river, I thought, "I'll just grab it before it goes in the river."

And I just managed to get hold of it.

The way it's moving, the way it's walking and it was swimming,

it's not quite right, so for peace of mind, I want to get it checked over by a vet

and make sure there's nothing serious.

With the elusive swan finally bagged up,

Sarah must now act fast. It's the height of the breeding season

and the male will need to be returned to the lake as quickly as possible

if this pair are to have any cygnets.

Still to come... Mystery mounts over what could be wrong with the swan.

I can't rule out respiratory infection, lead poisoning would be on the list, with generalised weakness.

If you look, he keeps holding his head down.

And I get hands-on with the vets treating Scotland's wild horses.

This is how you move half a tonne of horseflesh!

Many of us like nothing more than a close-up look

at Britain's wildlife.

But it's quite another thing to have it living in your own home.

Still, that's often the outcome when an animal's curiosity takes over.

It's then they can find themselves trapped in all sorts of unusual places.

In Bristol, RSPCA inspector Kim Downes is making her way

to what could prove to be a very peculiar rescue.

I had a call from a member of the public, saying that a bird of prey,

allegedly, has got trapped in the chimney

and they can't get it out.

Off to go and have a look, see what's there.

They seem to think it's a bird of prey

but obviously, we'll find out when we get there.

It's very rare, I don't think I've ever rescued a bird of prey out of a chimney.

Still, Kim's an experienced inspector so she's used to taking on

the unpredictable in her day-to-day work.

And it looks like today will be no exception.

Hello there, from the RSPCA, had the call about the bird?

Yes.

The homeowner, Natalie Davis-Brown, was first alerted

to the mystery intruder three days ago,

after hearing scratching from the chimney breast in her dining room.

Now, the uninvited guest is refusing to leave,

she's called in Kim to help evict it.

But before Kim can draw up a plan of action,

she needs to be sure the bird is still there.

Where are you, bird?

BIRD SQUAWKS Oh, there he is.

Soon, she's in luck.

Now I need to think of how I'm going to get through this plasterboard.

BIRD SQUAWKS Yes, he's definitely there. He's even crying for us now.

Hello!

But Kim still faces the real obstacle

of how she can best rescue it.

We need to try and cause as least damage as possible for you!

-Have you got a problem with us breaking through that at all?

-No.

-Have you got anything that...

-Shall I have a look in the garage?

-Yes.

That would be great.

Kim thinks she knows how to get the bird out

but first, she needs the right tools for the job.

That's a huge hammer. I'll take a selection.

And we'll give it a go.

Armed with a hefty hammer and a selection of screwdrivers,

Kim's finally ready for action.

The plan is to make a small hole in the plasterboard,

so that hopefully I can put my hand up and grab the bird out safely.

I need to be careful that I don't injure it.

Lovely, thank you.

It's a painstaking operation, with the bird just inches away

from where she's hammering,

Kim can't afford to be too heavy-handed.

It's a nail-biting time for Natalie's children, Finlay and George,

as they wait to find out exactly who, or what,

their squawking squatter really is.

Ah, we have a hole.

After 10 minutes of delicate DIY, Kim's finally created a gap

in the plasterboard.

Ooh, it's quite big, whatever it is.

But she still doesn't know the identity of the mystery intruder.

OK, I now have it...

It's all getting very tense.

Ooh, he's so close.

Oh, there we go.

See?

But it's not long before all is revealed.

Looking even more sooty than normal, the trapped bird is actually a jackdaw.

Kim's priority is to check he's not injured.

He's got a good grip on his feet.

His wings look OK.

So we'll let him have a little fly and see if he gets off OK.

If it looks like he's struggling to fly off, I'll catch him again,

we'll get him looked at by a vet

but he seems quite lively, considering he's been stuck in there for quite a while!

He's probably just a bit hungry and thirsty.

Yes, we'll let him out.

After being trapped in the chimney space for the best part of three days,

Kim is sure the young jailbird will be more than ready

to taste freedom again.

So let's see how you go.

It doesn't take long for the bird to get its bearings and head for home.

Go on, then!

KIM CLAPS

Going to go?

It should recover fine, it's flown off.

It hasn't got any injuries, just a bit of soot on it, but yeah,

hopefully it should go off and find a meal and the rest of its family.

It all seems like a happy ending.

Ah, there he goes.

But out of the blue, there's suddenly more scratching from the chimney.

Oh! And it looks like there's a little friend in there.

Another one.

If not a whole family.

It looks like Kim's great escape hatch is needed again.

Oh! There it is.

CHILD LAUGHS

I've got all of it now, out he comes.

There we go.

I think we'll be having another look to check there's no more up there!

Luckily, this one appears to be in fine fettle too.

I'm checking your wings.

Although after a few days with no food, it's, not surprisingly, a little peckish!

He's a lively one, he's got more energy than the other one.

With Kim's sweep of the chimney now complete...

Let's let you go.

..it's not long before this one is on its way too.

He's off.

Jackdaws are intelligent, inquisitive birds,

but this pair's sense of adventure has resulted in them having a lucky escape.

It was a bit of a surprise to find a second one there,

I wasn't expecting that.

Could have been they were nesting up there

and both of them have come down.

There's definitely only two though.

Both were fit and well and have been released to the wild

so it's a good ending.

For Kim, it's finally "job done".

But it might not be too long before she's needed again!

Now, we're heading back to the Scottish Highlands,

where earlier, I joined a team of more than 60 equine experts

and vets, on a mission to help a herd of wild horses.

After the population had grown to over 100,

the farmer was struggling to cope so he called in the charity

World Horse Welfare.

One stallion had been put to sleep, after being found with an abnormal genetic condition

which, it was feared, it could pass on to the rest of the herd.

Now the team's priority is to round up the other horses,

castrate the males, and check on the health of the rest.

Morayshire, in the north-east of Scotland.

It's the location for an extraordinary rescue mission.

So far, 15 wild horses have been checked over

but with the recovery pens now empty,

field officer Kenny Smart, from World Horse Welfare,

is ready to start the tricky process of gathering up the next herd.

Tell me what the plan is here.

There's already another group of horses in the field,

further up beyond there. We'll just slowly walk up the hill,

get round behind them, try and keep as calm as we can,

bring them downhill and get them through the gates.

Once the lead horse is in there, the rest should follow through.

'In full flight, these horses are impossible to stop.

'So it's down to me and the team to keep them calm.'

There they are.

'The team keeps a tight cordon to make sure there's no room for the horses to break through.'

Bit nearer me?

It's all a question of just taking it easy, let them relax,

move in a few more feet, let them relax again.

'And, after a bit of hesitation,

'the horses gallop towards the operations waiting room.'

Stay back to that gate.

-That seemed to go according to plan, Kenny.

-It was first time lucky!

Nice work.

They look fairly on edge in there though.

'These horses are so big and strong

'that they could cause serious damage if they try to escape.

'But with nowhere to go, this family finally

'can make their way into the operating corridor.'

They've just about got them in but even now,

some of them are backing out. In fact, one of them's trying to make a break for it.

You can never be sure until they're finally in there.

When you see them all in here, that group of horses,

you get a hell of a feeling for the power of the horseflesh there,

the muscle and weight of them. Got to be so careful.

'Anaesthetist Jules Duncan and her team give the horses

'some basic sedation to try and calm them down

'and make them easier to handle.'

Here, there are some pretty fine judgements to be made,

which are difficult to do out in the field, you'd rather be doing them in the lab!

In our normal working day, we get to examine the horse

before we give it any drugs so we get to check its heart, lungs,

its age will have a factor. We've not been able to do any of that.

What kind of risks do you get from anaesthetics?

There's always the risk of death, which we cannot avoid.

There may be some horses that have underlying disease or problems,

we won't know about them so they may die.

Some of them seem to go down quicker than you were expecting!

That is dangerous because you can get

another horse climbing on top of them.

That could end up with them not being able to breathe, or broken bones.

'And almost immediately, Jules' concerns are realised.'

They've got a problem here, one of the horses is on top

of one of the others.

They're not sure whether to pull the bottom one out

or lift the top one over the top.

It's not easy.

'Every situation is delicate, but these horses are so strong,

'there's only so much the team can do.

'Gradually, the horse on top is led forwards, given more drugs...'

-Are we just rolling him over?

-Yes, roll him over.

There we go.

'..and pulled away from danger.'

Many hands!

'While the one underneath proves a trickier case.'

Pull.

Seems pretty brutal pulling a horse like this, are they OK with it?

Yeah, they're fine. They're sturdy, we're not going to do them any damage by doing this.

We're not strong enough to do any damage just by pulling on them.

'It takes five of us just to pull the horse clear.

'And the delay is having a serious knock-on effect on the queuing horses,

'with sedation kicking in before they reach the exit.'

This is how you move half a tonne of horseflesh.

One, two, three!

GRUNTS OF EXERTION

'Even under sedation, these wild horses are volatile.

'A single kick could cause serious damage.'

Watch out!

'Every male in the herd has to be castrated,

'including the foals.

'And they also receive a full health check.

'The aim is to re-home many of the horses

'but only if they're free of disease

'so vet Katrina Ward gives them all a once-over.'

Katrina, what's the plan here?

We're going to give him his microchip

and that's going to go into the left side of his neck

because that means it won't move around as he grows,

it should stay in the same place.

'The microchip is a legal requirement that allows horses to be tracked.'

-Got any other concerns?

-Yeah. He's got quite a long coat

and in various places, he's got patches where he's been rubbing himself

so you can see through to the skin.

This is because this little guy has lice on him.

He's obviously got a large burden of them,

we're going to treat him with a spot-on,

which is an anti-parasite drug.

And this foal isn't the only animal with some health concerns.

A farrier is on hand to deal with any lameness,

treating some of the horses for split hooves or long feet.

The most accessible animals have now been brought in.

But out in the rolling hills,

there are other elusive horses, still trying to evade capture.

Still to come... I join the Royal Marines, as we head for the hills

to gather the really wild bunch.

It really shows how tough it is to round horses up

in a landscape like this.

We're heading back to Hull, where earlier we joined RSPCA inspector

Sarah Keith, who's been dealing with a swan.

The bird was suspected of having an injured foot

but Sarah also feared it could be suffering from lead poisoning.

Her priority now is to get it checked out.

Staff at Swanbridge veterinary practice, near Hull,

are used to dealing with rescued wildlife.

There we go!

That's why Sarah wants vet John Levison to examine the injured swan.

And John's keen to find out more.

What's the story, Sarah?

We knew there was an issue with this leg.

But we didn't know what it was... Whether it was broken

and I couldn't tell where on the leg, potentially, the injury was.

I saw it, from a distance, clamber off a nest

and I saw it moving round on the water

but not quick enough. Anyway, it can take off and fly.

It's feeding but there is an issue with that foot, I'm not sure what it is.

John gives the swan a thorough check.

The other thing we do is always assess the body condition.

It's actually in good bodily condition.

The first priority is for John to examine the swan's leg,

to see whether there are any signs of damage.

We look for things like abscesses, fishing line around the feet.

Just feel for any fractures, abnormal swellings.

With no obvious problems with its leg,

John's turning his attention to the other possible reasons

for it appearing so weak.

I can't rule out respiratory infection, lead poisoning would be on the list as well

with the generalised weakness. He keeps holding his head down.

He's a big, powerful bird, right? But he seems to lack power,

really, he's physically large but is weak. For the moment,

let's see how he responds and re-examine him.

John's plan is to keep the swan in for observation

and see how he responds.

Three days later and on the lake where the swan was rescued,

its partner cuts a solitary figure.

It's the breeding season and if they're to have any chance

of having young, it's vital these two birds are reunited as soon as possible.

Back at Swanbridge veterinary practice,

John Levison is joining up with RSPCA inspector Keira Wynne

to check on the progress of the male.

And he's already encouraged by what he sees.

He feels stronger when you handle him.

He's got more power about him. Check your wings again, mate, come on.

Keira is delighted the swan's looking much stronger,

but admits the whole episode's proved a bit of a mystery.

One foot seems slightly larger than the other

so maybe he's off-balance with that and that's made him get tired.

Or if he's had a bad to-do or crash-landed,

it may be that one of his legs hasn't coped as well.

We're going to take him back to his lady friend, as long as

-John gives him the all-clear.

-The sooner he's back out in the wild, the better.

Back with his lady friend, where he belongs.

It's great news for the male, and for his partner,

who's been waiting at the lake, all alone.

Now then, big boy, are you ready?

You just wait for me to get out of the way first!

Cheeky monkey.

Off you go, then.

Go on, then.

Go on, then!

SWAN SQUAWKS

There we are.

There you go, cheeky.

Bye!

Once set free, he needs little encouragement to rejoin his partner

in the middle of the lake for a familiar ritual.

That was really nice to see both of them back together.

I love it when they make the heart shape with their heads,

it's always nice when they reunite in a good way like that.

It's one of the better parts of the job.

Now we're back to Scotland, where a huge operation

to round up a herd of more than 100 wild horses has been going well.

The team was called in to control numbers and prevent inbreeding

after the farmer admitted he was struggling to cope.

But now the rescue team face the challenge of rounding up the wildest bunch of all.

And for that, they've called in military support.

In the hills of Morayshire, an elite team are preparing for a special mission.

Three families of horses remain unaccounted for,

somewhere in the hills.

And a 16-man unit from 45 Commando Royal Marines

have been called in to help co-ordinate this part of the round-up.

This moment gives you a snapshot of the campaign.

There's a group of horses up there,

with the marines above them on the ridge

but this is where they've got to get them to.

Down here, up this valley side, across this field,

into the fields over there, which are the waiting room for the vet.

Then behind the farm, where they've got their surgery set up.

That's quite a challenge.

Tell him to keep next to the fence.

Dan Bottomley will be in charge of pushing the horses down to the farm.

We've got the two sections in the wood line, we're ready to move off when you are.

These marines may be more used to military campaigns,

but their skills will be invaluable in tracking the horses

through rough terrain.

A bit of a contrast from your usual life, this one?

Yeah, definitely!

'One group of about ten horses has been spotted in the woods,

'and they need to be forced out into the open fields.'

RADIO BLEEPS

'Section one have moved to the start point, now over.'

'Roger that, we'll have to stand by here. Over.'

There we go, this is them.

'The horses are feral and their first instinct is to move away from humans.

'So, as we appear behind them, they start to move off.'

Push that way, mate.

'Getting them out of the trees will make herding the horses much easier.'

James, I'm pushing Ali's section down towards the field

where those horses are on the edge of the treeline to push them further down.

-RADIO:

-'Will be appearing exactly...'

'And out in the open, it's clear there are two separate groups.'

We need those horses to come this way! Get Ali to flank them now.

'But with all eyes on the group to the right...'

-RADIO:

-'Dan, get in position quick! Come over that treeline, get on the south side now, over!'

Right, come back this way, lads!

'..the ones on the left charge back towards the trees.'

Don't let those horses get into the wood block.

'But I've seen enough of these wild horses today

'to know they'll stop for nothing.

'Getting in their way could prove a potentially lethal experience.'

Well, our team of marines have jogged back to the start

because the horses bolted back in the woods

so we have to go all the way round again.

It really shows how tough it is to round horses up

in a landscape like this.

'Dan Bottomley is in no doubt about the dangers these horses pose.'

They went into flight. When they get into flight, you let them go

cos they won't care if you're a tree, a fence, they'll go through you.

'This is tough work and even this elite military unit is struggling.

'But these animals have to be treated, so we have another go.'

The horses are spooked and they're much further ahead this time.

But I think they might have gone down to the field we want them to go to.

We're not quite on their haunches like we should be, though.

'The military line must be tight. With the horses now out of the trees,

'they mustn't be allowed to turn back again.'

All right, just slowly push forward, lads!

HE PANTS

Yes! Go on, go through that fence.

'At last, the tactics are working. The horses race down the hill

'and into the secure fenced-off field.

'They're now too stressed to be pushed up the valley today.

'So they'll be held here overnight to calm down.'

'The next morning, the team arrives back for the final push.

'The horses have nowhere to go, apart from up the other side.

'Getting these animals to this point has proved a demanding task

'for all the team.

'But the horses are finally where they need to be.'

Well, they did it, they got them into the vet's waiting room, as we call it,

ready for their operations. Quite a tough job but it was done!

HORSE WHINNIES

But already in the waiting area is another family.

Having lived without human contact, the prospect of being penned in is causing them to get agitated.

The first of the group is sedated in the assessment corridor

but left behind are a potentially dangerous group of stallions.

With nowhere to go,

these horses could react badly to any human contact.

Right, can we leave them?

Getting more stressed, one of the horses kicks out at the barriers.

Some of the fencing breaks off, and in a panic,

the horse desperately tries to free his legs and escape the enclosure.

Grab the gate.

It's a lucky escape, and with no serious injuries,

the stallions are pushed into the assessment corridor.

This bent pin gives you an idea of the strength of these animals.

One of the stallions bashed into this gate,

pushed this completely out of shape and that's inch-thick steel.

'Under sedation, the stallions quickly relax

'and the vets can continue their vital work.

'Eileen and her team came to the farm knowing they faced an uphill battle.'

OK, we've had some anxious moments, but all in all,

they've really come out of it very well.

'Once the horses have recovered,

'the team hope to reduce the herd's number by re-homing half of them.'

What's really impressed me about today

is the sheer bulk of this operation, the number of horses,

the power of them in the race, and the consequent danger.

By the end of the mission, all 103 horses had been assessed

and treated. It's been a huge operation

but most importantly, a very successful one too.

If you think you know of a case of wildlife crime,

or a creature that needs immediate protection,

remember, there are dedicated professionals who will answer your call right around the clock.

They are the people we meet on Animal 24:7.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd