Wednesday 19 June, 2013
A NUMBER OF shocking cases in recent weeks have raised questions about Ireland’s animal welfare laws.
The government has proposed a new Animal Health and Welfare Act to replace the existing piecemeal laws, some of which date back more than a century. Under the existing laws, prosecutions and other strong punishments are rare.
So today we’re asking: Are Ireland’s animal welfare laws strong enough?
Poll Results:
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Anyone that steals a family pet, uses it as bait for dog fighting, ransoms it, breeds from it or hurts it deserves time, these people have no feelings, not animals.
If their capable of animal cruelty, their capable of human cruelty. Many years ago I came across a few young lads with a dog tied to a Telefon pole and a bottle of petrol in their hands! As soon as they saw me driving towards them, they ran like hell and I chased them in my car. I caught one of them and were it not for a another man who came along I think I would have kicked the living daylights out of him! I did get one good kick in though. Not proud of it but the red mist had descended. Dog was rehomed with nice family. Animal cruelty of this horrific nature should feel the full force of the law and offenders should be jailed!!!!
I was listening to joe Duffey during the week a woman has 2 collies aged 9 yrs and is in morgage distress was told to go to mabs who told her to get her dogs put down so she won’t have to feed them that’s the country we are living in
I was in MABS over a month ago. I have several dogs. The subject of mutt maintenance costs was raised by me — not the MABS person — and they explained that dogs are never targeted as they are considered companion animals that can help those under financial pressure to deal with their difficulties.
On the main topic — can anyone please explain why the docking of dog tails is still permitted? I thought it had been banned over a decade ago and I still see mutilated pups being brought for walks.
Metassus, the veterinary council of Ireland prohibits any of its members from docking dogs’ tails cosmetically. However there is no law for lay people to carry out this act of mutilation and people think or “don’t know” if our animal welfare laws are sufficient?????
The welfare laws in Ireland are a joke, never mind the cases highlighted by the Journal, just have a look at the countless rescue pages, at least once a month on the rescue that I support there is a horrific story of cruelty and abuse and downright neglect. The sad reality is that no one is ever held to account for these acts as an owner is practically impossible to locate. Mandatory microchipping is what is required in this country. People might think twice about abusing their defenceless animals if they were traceable back to them.
62% of people DONT KNOW..???That to me is shocking enough… People…! ‘What do you ‘ NOT KNOW’? Surely the plight of neglected animals in this country has been highlighted over the last year or 2 in the media.. otherwise for gods sake open ye’re eyes! Look around!.. Plenty of neighbours etc neglecting their horses, dogs, cats..
I clicked don’t know because I had not read the relevant piece of law (which was kindly provided below). Having not read this, I could not give an informed answer.
As I suspected, there are laws, but their enforcement leaves a lot to be desired, in which case I would change my answer now that I have seen the actual legislation in question.
Ireland has a terrible track record in animal welfare, mass graves of greyhounds(all breed to get that one champion then dumped like garbage)
It is the same with Horses, Cats have no legal rights (beautiful animals not everyone likes them but they should have rights)
Not to mention puppy farming the people responsible for just using animals to breed like machines and often in atrocious conditions with the animals suffering massive cruelty.
We have pounds with the highest kill rates,(follow Sweden’s example and laws) we have people stealing pets to be used for dog fighting (Sadistic psychopaths) Irresponsible owners getting puppies from xmas and not training or neutering there pets.
The only positive thing Ireland has some great people working in some organisations, some great volunteers,who are passionate, dedicated, and empathetic and caring towards helping the animals of the country.But we need more people to act not just turn a blind eye to the horrific truth that is Ireland’s Shame.
Very well said James…. Everybody can do something. You don’t need to foster or adopt to help the animals. Donate money for their care, donate your time to walk them once a week, donate old towels and blankets to keep them warm, donate old newspapers for toilet training the puppies, share the pictures on FB or Twitter of the animals that need new homes and most of all educate the next generation so that this abuse and neglect stops now.
Animal Welfare laws in Ireland are a complete joke from the point of view of protecting animals ! Ask any who volunteers or works in animal rescue in this country and you get your facts .
Our pound system is a joke for starters . Each pound has its own rules and is accountable for no one ! Some pounds do not even advertise strays in their care or allow you inside if you list your dog .
Then we have the in spectate of the DSPCA and ISPCA who have no power to confiscate an abused animal from you unless if they get the Gardai involved . Also these are organisations run with public support not the support of the government who only gives them one grant a year to cover costs . !
The governments needs to introduce compulsory microchipping , a national database and low cost spaying and neutering programme . We are still working on animal welfare laws from 1911 ! There is currently an animal welfare bill going through the Dail . The draft bill is 166 pages long . Only a few pages if this actually refer to pet welfare . It gives no extra powers to welfare inspectors , no additional rights to animals etc . This bill , if ever becomes law permits fox hunting , fur farming , badger baiting and still permits animals to be exploited in circus !
Animal abuse should be punished by compulsory jail time and heave fines and a lifetime ban on owning animals !
Just wanted to say to those people who go out and help / save these dogs /cats etc
Well done it is not an easy job and more than likely unpaid
It must be very hard when you come across some distressing cases
But yet rewarding to know you have saved an innocent animal from living hell
Well done to you all
What the existing 1911 law actually says is a bit instructive:
1.-(1) If any person –
(a) shall cruelly beat, kick, ill-treat, over-ride, over-drive, over-load, torture, infuriate or terrify any animal, or shall cause or procure, or, being the owner, permit any animal to be so used, or shall, by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, or causing or procuring the commission or omission of any act, cause any unnecessary suffering, or, being the owner, permit any unnecessary suffering to be so caused to any animal; or (footnote 1)(b) shall convey or carry or cause to procure, or, being the owner, permit to be conveyed or carried, any animal in such manner or position as to cause that animal any unnecessary suffering; or
(c) shall cause, procure, or assist at the fighting or baiting of any animal; or shall keep, use, manage, or act or assist in the management of, any premises or place for the purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or shall permit any premises or place to be so kept, managed, or used, or shall receive, or cause or procure any person to receive money for the admission of any person to such premises or place; or
(d) shall wilfully, without any reasonable cause or excuse, administer, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, such administration of, any poisonous or injurious drug or substance to any animal, or shall wilfully, without any reasonable cause or excuse, cause any such substance to be taken by any animal; or
(e) shall subject, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit to be subjected, any animal to any operation which is performed without due care and humanity;
such person shall be guilty of an offence of cruelty within the meaning of this Act,
In other words, every single real example of animal cruelty in the journal in the last year or so has been an illegal act already. The fact that the law is old doesn’t mean diddly – it’s perfectly fit for purpose. We don’t need to alter the law, apart from increasing the punishments; we need to enforce the law that is already there.
Thing is, in Ireland we’re bad at that, so we’ll write a new law, not enforce that and manage to waste even more time while looking like we’re doing something. Like we do with almost every area of law in this country.
And meanwhile, groups like ICABS will throw up things which aren’t cruelty and some which are the only thing keeping species off the endangered list, and call them cruelty and demand that they’re banned without regard to the consequences (which would usually be far worse, like losing an entire species or ecosystem) and muddy up the waters completely.
Frankly, we don’t need to change the law; we have a far more pressing need to educate people about nature and animals.
Remember all the small pups found in the boot of the car at Dublin port before Christmas . They were confiscated but what many people might not know that the DSPCA were forced to surrender most if these animals back to the owners ! And people think we have animal welfare laws in this country ….. They are only fooling themselves if they think this country offers protection to any animal ! And please don’t even get me started on the failure of this country to protect greyhounds that if they are passed their money making time are discarded like pieces of litter ! And this governments solution ? To export these unfortunate animals to china ?
In this country we have more than 500,000 stray feral cats , and that’s a conservative estimate . They live and die in misery and agony and we have people in power in this country who turn a blind eye to this problem . Cats are not even mentioned in the current animal welfare bill ! It makes me sick to see the cruelty and abandonment of animals on a daily base in this country .
We have an opportunity to being animal welfare into our schools and we ignore it ! Unless you educate you are never going to change anything !
Have been involved in Animal Welfare. Laws are far too light on perpetrators of cruelty. State agencies eg Dept. Of Agriculture are strangely slow to pick up on farm cruelty cases. Dealing with Gardai depends on personal level of interest in animals by individual members. Getting cases through court can also be frustrating if Judge has little interest in animal welfare issues. I know many very dedicated volunteers whose lives are dedicated to caring for ill treated animals at their own expense, they need to be supported.
Doreen. Whoever suggested that to her should be neutered. I hope i never need to go to mabs…
The guy next door to us keeps two dogs in chains out the back. He only walks them once a month. Hardly feeds them. Cuts the doh hair and throws it out on the backlane. *they have no bin* crazy! Sweeps the dog litter on the lane. Horrible treatment.
@Mary.. The greyhound situation is disgraceful. These dogs make excellent pets; friendly, quiet, beautiful temperament ideally suited for family life with small kids. People get the wrong impression because they’re often seen in muzzles. There are a couple of organisations specialising in caring for and rehoming greyhounds and lurchers.. See http://www.paws.ie
Just look anywhere in Ireland and you’ll find stories of animal abuse like this:
http://www.iiwsoc.com/wordpress/?p=1877
Horse, donkeys, cats, dogs and all others wild and domestic.
I was told by a local farmer that animals have no souls so they don’t feel pain.
How do you answer such ignorance?
The treatment of animals in this country is disgusting! Dogs are put to sleep everyday and the cruelty is unimaginable! Some of the stuff you see and hear about is shocking! It should be compulsory that all animals are microchipped. A minister for animals is what’s needed!
“Things which aren’t cruelty”? What a strange comment re the ICABS campaign against blood sports. Well…hare coursing and fox hunting are demonstrably cruel, as is the use of terriers in unearthing foxes that go ground, as was carted stag hunting, now, thankfully illegal. We do need to strengthen the law, and abolish animal cruelty practises even when these command the support of powerful people (e.g. carted stag hunting, banned despite lavishly funded pro-bloodsports campaign)
How are that many people not sure?! Every day of the week you hear about appalling animal cruelty, just last week, two horses alive had their legs tied and were threw from a moving van on he motorway, this person was not caught, and even if they were caught, nothing would happen to them. Nothing in this country deters people from animal cruelty. People need to be awards of what is going on in their country, and if certain people are capable of huge amounts of cruelty on animals, there is no question that they would do it to humans too
Why do 1,001 people or 55% of respondants NOT KNOW if the laws are strong enough?? Have these people not seen the dogs that have been mutilated and abused particularly over the last year. Are they not in a part of the country that has feral cats living in deplorable conditions where kittens are born to die in agony just days later? Have they not seen the horses that have been abandoned and left to starve to death on vacant land up and down this country. But the courts stay eerily empty of people held accountable for these crimes.The response from those 1001 people just sums up the value that Irish society places on its animals. The proposed new legislation doesn’t nearly go far enough to protecting the animals in this country. I have seen first hand the abuse suffered and the saddest thing is that these animals despite the abuse will still love and look to please another human because there isn’t a malicious or vindictive bone in their body. I hope that this poll at least makes some people look for more information and spurs them into helping in some small way
I never thought for such a small island we’d have so much cruelty, but the evidence mounts! Billions of animals are killed every year, meat, fur, scientific researc, abuse, and for many other reasons I could go on about, these are simply some of the larger contributors for their cruel and horrific deaths. Most laws for all animals are simply disgraceful and outdated, and the most strict of punishment should be given for the crimes committed.
Our laws are in no way strong enough and the new Animal Welfare Bill, while a slight improvement, does not go nearly far enough.
We need to catch up with our neighbours in Northern Ireland and Britain and outlaw such ‘sports’ as fox hunting and hate coursing, which have no place in a civilised society.
And existing penalties for activities already illegal must be considerably strengthened.
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