THE Council has been urged to set up a Limerick City Animal Welfare Committee to examine enforcement challenges.
Proposing the idea at the Metropolitan District meeting for the month of May, Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara said he considered such a move a way to improve multi-agency co-operation and co-ordination, and promote awareness of welfare standards and responsible animal ownership.
“The sheer number of contacts I get in relation to animal welfare concerns is so high that if I didn’t raise them I wouldn’t be doing my job,” Cllr Hickey-O’Mara told the meeting.
“I know from speaking to other councillors that many of us get a high volume of contacts on these issues, so it’s evident that Limerick deeply cares for its animals, domestic animals, and native wildlife alike.
“This is an issue that truly brings people from all political backgrounds together. As a result I am requesting the establishment of a Limerick City Animal Welfare Committee that can promote joined-up thinking on this issue, that can bring those volunteering on the frontline around the table with politicians and Council workers to share insights and work towards solutions,” he added.
The City North representative went on to call for the harnessing of skills and insights within the Council workplace as well as the vast community knowledge of the groups and activists at the coalface of animal welfare in the city.
“Mahatma Gandhi said that, ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated’, but, unfortunately, given the sheer amount of contacts we receive in relation to animal abuses in this city, we have a very long way to go. This committee is only a small step towards beginning to tackle these abuses but it’s better than wringing our hands and looking the other way.”
In response, Limerick Council said that the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) is the lead State authority with overarching responsibility for animal welfare. However, the local authority considered the establishment of a Limerick City Animal Welfare Committee as a way of providing a forum to examine enforcement challenges, improve multi-agency cooperation and coordination, and support consistent messaging around animal welfare standards and responsible animal ownership within the city.
“In this context, the Council may write to the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine to formally request consideration of establishing a Limerick City Animal Welfare Committee.”