HORSES that were once considered valuable assets are now being abandoned due to the cost of looking after the animals.
It was a revealed at a meeting of Limerick County Council that the authority seized and impounded 127 horses last year that were either stray or mistreated.
The figure was revealed in a report from the County Secretary Eugene Griffin, in response to a query from Cllr Leo Walsh, asking that the Department for the Environment take more stringent action to stamp out animal cruelty.
“We see the cruelty that goes on with every kind of animal in the county that shouldn’t be accepted in this day and age.
“Despite legislation being brought in that horses are to be micro-chipped, I don’t think its being adhered too”.
Cllr Eddie Ryan suggested that horses no longer have the monetary value that they once secured.
“I saw a pony recently that was bought for €20.
“The same animal would have been worth €400 or €500 a few years ago.
“Nobody wants to take the animals because they can’t afford to feed them”.
Cllr Mike Houlihan believes that education is the key to eradicating animal cruelty.
“Coming from a farming background, I believe that education should be brought into schools on how to care for animals.
“It’s unfair for anyone to have an animal if they can’t care for it properly”.
The remit of the council is limited with regards to animal welfare, according to Mr. Griffin, but it does have several roles, including the supervision of abattoirs and the implementation of the control of horses legislation.
He explained that new animal welfare legislation had also come into effect as of January 1, 2012, regulating dog breeding establishments.
“Owners are now required to register with the local authority; minimum standards for premises and care of the dogs are set down and the local authority has power to enter and inspect and take enforcement action where deemed necessary for the protection of dogs.
“The council will be working with dog breeders over the coming months to achieve compliance”.
He added that the main legislative provisions relating to animal welfare, namely the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the EC (Welfare of Farmed Animals) Regulation 2010, are enforceable by the Garda Siochana and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine respectively.
A new Animal Health and Welfare Bill is expected to be published shortly to update existing leg to ensure that the welfare of animals is properly protected and that the penalties for offenders are increased significantly.
