Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Senator Boylan on raising this issue. I concur with the Chairman's statement. I was horrified reading Dr. Kirby's statement. This is not to question its content in any way, all of which I accept. We had submissions from the Department and the Veterinary Council of Ireland, VCI. I took it that both of them were going to be here this evening. The questions I had prepared were for them based on Dr. Kirby's submission. By virtue of the fact they are not here, and that was my misunderstanding of the situation, I might run some of them by Dr. Kirby and get further elaboration from him.

Regarding Dr. Kirby's description of what I would call backstreet clinics, medicines are being used. We had a lot of deliberation over the past year on the European veterinary medicines regulation. At this stage, a farmer must have a prescription for anti-parasitic medicines just dosing for worms. It was made quite clear to us that nobody can buy or import these medicines without being registered and recognised by the VCI. Where are these medicines coming from? How are these people getting their hands on the medicines that would be required to carry out these operations?

Is it an issue for customs as much as for anybody else?

Mr. Kirby mentioned, in his opening statement, the raising of public awareness of this issue, which was a point I definitely intended to raise with the Department. I will be honest and declare my ignorance or naivety, as one could describe it, that either of these things was happening and I certainly was not aware of the resulting consequences and volume of artificial insemination and ear cropping. We need to raise public awareness of the issue. There would be people like me who, if they were to go with a family member to buy a dog whose ears were cropped, would not be aware of how or why that happened or that it was not the natural shape of the ear of that breed of dog. Until the end user or final purchaser is fully aware of how such a dog got to the condition it is in, with the enormous pain and trauma it would have endured to end up looking like it does, we cannot say "stop" to that while there is a market. If there was a strong publicity campaign highlighting the issues Mr. Kirby has raised and more public awareness of them, I would say people would say "No" and would not purchase the dog in question. The questions were based on Mr. Kirby's submission but, as I said, they were intended for the Department and the Veterinary Council of Ireland, VCI. Mr. Kirby might comment on where I am coming from on these issues.