A potential fresh start for animal welfare in Ireland

By Darren J. Prior

The recent appointment of Justin Kelly as the new Garda Commissioner has been called an opportunity for a “fresh start” when it comes to the implementation of animal welfare legislation in Ireland.

The State implementation of animal welfare legislation often falls to members of An Garda Síochána and local authorities but it was reported late last month by a senior Garda member speaking anonymously to the media that cases involving animal cruelty often fall into the “lower rungs” of policing priorities because Gardaí are not trained or resourced to deal with them adequately.

Speaking to Dublin People, John O’Callaghan co-founder and spokesperson of Dog Advocacy Ireland said that he does not blame the Gardaí personally for not being trained on animal welfare.

But he said that the appointment of a new Garda Commissioner has the potential to herald in a “fresh start” for the force if Commissioner Kelly and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan take on board what animal welfare advocates such as Dog Advocacy Ireland are calling for.

“The Gardaí are not being properly resourced. They are not being properly funded.

“And they are not being trained properly when it comes to animal welfare.

“With that in mind Dog Advocacy Ireland is proposing that an Animal Welfare Legislation module be introduced in Templemore Training College so that all future Gardaí will be familiar with the legislation and be aware of their responsibilities under that legislation.

“Animal welfare is something that must be taken seriously and the law must be enforced”, John told Dublin People.

The main source of authority on animal welfare policies according to John is the Dept. of Agriculture though and John says the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and his department need to “acknowledge that the system of dog welfare protection legislation is broken and dysfunctional.

“Ireland holds the shameful distinction as being ‘puppy farm capital of Europe’, yielding €200 million per annum for criminal dog breeding activities”.

John added that he and Dog Advocacy Ireland wish “to engage constructively and cooperatively with Minister Heydon and his senior staff, towards reviewing current dog welfare protection policy and urgently implementing meaningful change in dog/animal welfare protection