"Nobody bothered asking the question, where are all the Irish horses going?", says animal rights activist Stephen Philpott, who ran a surveillance operation on gangs smuggling thousands of unwanted horses across the border for illegal slaughter. It was all an unexpected consequence of the global financial crisis. When the bubble burst in Ireland, expensive horses were dumped and left to fend for themselves in parks, fields and by the side of the road. It wasn't long before criminal gangs got in on the action. One whistle blower, now in fear of his life, admits forging passports for horses to get them across borders. Alan Reilly, CEO of the Food Standards Authority, explains how "there are over 26 countries in Europe who are now involved".