*Horses being put down in a humane way
YES, there are horses for courses but very shortly there will be passports for horses as well. The issue arose when a new set of Bye-Laws in relation to the Control of Horses was discussed at a recent meeting of the Environment Strategic Policy Committee.
When the city council’s director of services, Caroline Curley, said that under the new Bye-Laws, the release of a horse detained in the city will require the production of a valid passport, committee member, Sean Griffin observed:
“I have a problem with that – how would you get a snap of a horse into a small passport photo”.
It was pointed out that the passport snap would be confined to the horses head and face.
“The EU requires that all horses be identifiable by passport,” Ms Curley told the meeting”
She said that for ease of administration, it is now necessary to adopt one set of bye-Laws that covers the entire city, rather than the Bye Laws that have been operating in the northern side of the city.
“The European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 require that all horses be identified by a passport and a transponder in accordance with the regulations – the release of a horse detained in the city will require the production of a valid passport and evidence of the presence of a transponder,” (an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation).
The director of services also informed the meeting that under the present Bye-Laws, a horse can be detained for seven days.
“Now the Department is advising us that they will no longer pay for horses kept in excess of five days, so it is proposed to amend the detention period to five days”.
Cllr Orla McLoughlin said she recently saw a film documentary about euthanasia for horses, and Ms Curley said the problem in Limerick is that “there is an awful lot of horses that are not being claimed by their owners.
“They are unwanted – they are not being sold now because owners would get nothing for them and they are being put down in a humane way – the Department of Agriculture is dealing with this”.
