Animal welfare officials in Switzerland have warned that there are 10,000 people with what they term 'an unnatural sexual interest in horses' in the countryside. According to new figures, there were a record 1,709 cases of animal cruelty in Switzerland last year, with at least one horse suffering sexual abuse every three days. Spokesman for the swiss animal rights organisation, Andreas Rüttimann said approximately one in ten of all animal abuse cases involving horses relates to unnatural sexual contact. Mr Rüttimann said that the most common animal targeted by Swiss zoophiles are dogs, but horses are increasingly popular.