The DSPCA said a violent atmosphere exists at the fair which is held on the first Sunday of every month in the north Dublin square.

"Our inspectors have to wear stab-proof vests because we can't afford to let them into this fair unprotected, " DSPCA manager Jimmy Cahill told the Sunday Tribune.

"Just last week a 12-yearold kid produced a samurai sword in front of one of our officers. There are fellows there with Stanley knives and screwdrivers and inspectors could be surrounded by up to 30 men in a second if they're not on their guard."

Dublin City Council suspended management of the fair on health and safety grounds in 2004 but it has continued to operate unsupervised. Many of the horses sold at the fair have been brought in from a moorland environment in the UK. They are unused to city life and can be extremely dangerous. Many horses are sold to boys under 16 who will "inevitably ride them to death", Cahill said.

Dublin City Council is currently looking for a greenfield site in north Dublin for the fair, but this is unlikely to be found this year and until then the market will continue at Smithfield. "Every month we send three inspectors and a vet down to the fair to see what they can do, " Cahill said.

"We are there in our capacity as a charity concerned with the welfare of the animals. We don't have the luxury of the city council of walking away when it suits us and we will continue to do what we can.

But it's only a matter of time before there is a serious accident."