15/10/2025
I have said many times, and been shot down many times on this very subject.
I firmly believe that there should be dedicated authorised officers in every single county, via willing reputable rescues who have been fully trained.
The country simply cannot operate a welfare system whereby there are only 9 people who are supposed to cover 17 out of the 26 counties - and I’m not of the opinion that this new national/not national organisation is going to be any different.
The Gardai are, so we’re told, supposed to be the out of hours go to in emergency situations. There’s just one, rather large problem with that - the Gardai have no facilities, and some stations are unwilling to provide services. Just a simple fact.
The two ‘large’ organisations have had decades to get it together, yet basically little has changed. It has been the independent/private groups that have been the ONLY people to bring about change in this country. Another simple and indisputable fact.
The system re authorised officers needs a major overhaul. The problem possibly lies with more a desire to be ‘seen’ as being effective, rather than being effective - and getting the bulk of any funding without actually doing the bulk of the work.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine needs to understand this. It’s all very well for civil servants sit back and make decisions about animal welfare in Ireland when they have zero knowledge of the subject. One wonders how many of those making decisions in the department offices have even ever been presented with a seriously injured or extremely malnourished debilitated animal at any time, let alone out of office hours? I might suggest few, if any. But, here’s the thing, who would they call after 5pm, weekends or holidays? No point calling the department vets, the Ispca or Dspca/Nspca. A person can call the Gardai, which may or may not result in any action and, if it does, it’ll be a local poorly funded independent rescue organisation that will help, if they are contacted by the station for assistance - and that’s hit and miss at the best of times. It’s a farcical set up and it must change.
MLHR, like many others, is available to help in emergency situations at all times if necessary.
A great many people who run rescues are more au fait with the animal welfare legislation than the majority of the Gardai - my info is that the AHWA 2013 is not part of the curriculum in Garda training.
The system must change, and the government MUST listen to the independent rescues, and afford them the respect they deserve.
We also need the judiciary to, at the very minimum, impose significant financial penalties on those who are guilty of animal cruelty and deliberate neglect. These pointless and empty words by judges, who profess disgust at these people, and then proceed to let them off with a meaningless fine has to end. Most would be fined, or even jailed, for far less serious offences than the deliberate and blatant abuse of an innocent animal.
The legislation is there, but it’s just not enforced in any meaningful way by the judiciary. Why not?
The minister, as has every minister before him, repeats parrot fashion that the department takes animal welfare seriously - the evidence of said claim is not noticeable in general.
The urban horse situation is out of control, and that all boils down to money ie who’s going to pay for the removal of the animals by the horse pound operators. It’s around 1k-1.5k per horse! The ‘corporate’ organisations don’t want to be ‘lumbered’ with these horses, and very few organisations have the capacity to take them - so, the authorities ignore the problem and the abusers carry on unhindered, safe in the knowledge that no one is going to stop them. The department carries out an equine census, expecting those same people who fail to chip and passport their animals (as per the law) to complete the survey. Basically a census directed at the law abiders and not the abusers. Genius.
Again, this is possibly down to the fact that the independent rescues have failed to form an alliance in order for their collective voice to be heard and recognized by the government. How hard can it be to get together, it’s so easy these days with the internet, and form relationships and speak as one?
The alternative is to sit back and allow the civil servants and pen pushers in the department decide their fate. The department has already done an exercise into whether it’s getting ‘value for money’ for the peanuts it gives to animal welfare groups. The writing was on the wall 5 years ago, but went unheeded.
I will say one more thing, attending meetings with department officials or TDS behind closed doors has, to date, achieved absolutely nothing for individual groups - despite many promises made. Historically, it is clear to see. Ashton would still be operating, pounds in general would still be operating the same policy of killing, another large organisation in a nearby county wouldn’t have been brought into line without very public attention because talking behind closed doors achieved nothing despite many trying for years. The IGB would have gone ahead, with government approval/funding, to set up stadia in China had it not been for public support and media attention. The Ispca, that operated the majority of pounds, would have carried on using the captive bolt and killing dogs after 5 days and refusing rescues access to take digs. Bottom line is, nothing in animal welfare has been achieved simply by meeting with government officials - not one thing.
