What was the animal in distress?

I was walking my dog yesterday afternoon and i went into a field to give him a good run. There is a stables next to it and you are level with the horses fields. On this occasion i heard a really weird animal sound. It was like a dog barking or maybe a duck? but it wasn't (if that makes sense?) I could only say it was closest to a red fox in distress? Anyway it got louder and louder till eventually i heard two people shout 'shut up' and then it made almost a child laughing noise? maybe like a hyena on a cartoon? It wasn't, but it was like a sound effect you would hear on telly. A few minutes later this all repeated again? it really confused me, but i know for certain it must have been an animal in distress, possibly shut in one of the stables? This has happened before, as they shut a border collie in there for 2 weeks only letting it out for a few minutes a day. I found this out by a friend who used to be there. I don't know what to do, as i love animals and hate to think of them being abused. It would help if i might be able to identify what the animal could have been as best i can. This all happened in eastern england if that helps.....