About 100 carcasses of horses were found in a dried dam in a remote Aboriginal reserve in northeastern Western Australia. The horses died after they got stuck in the mud at Balgo which is within the Halls of Creeks Shire in Kimberley, WA.

Halls Creek Shire President Malcolm Edwards disclosed that 40 bodies of the dead horses were removed from the dry dam, and another 50 have yet to be removed.

The RSPCA has assisted the community and is working with them to prevent the death of more horses. The group said it targets to clear the area of the remaining carcasses in the coming days.

However, Yaja Nowakowski, the acting chief executive of the Balgo community, expressed fear that children who swim in the dam face the risk of contamination. She explained that while there is no water in the dam, rains creates a temporary swimming pool which attracts children and even for some animals to drink from the dam.

The RSPCA has fenced off the area to prevent the children and animals from entering the dam.

Ms Nowakowski said the mud is becoming dryer. She said the ideal solution is to cover the dam and build another dam with a well, but the community does not have resources for the project.

Horse advocate Libby Lovegrove said situation could have been avoided had members of the affected community sought their help and her group could have pumped some water out of the dam for the animals to drink.