Ms Maddie Doyle:

The gathering of evidence for an animal cruelty prosecution is very different. We are potentially dealing with a live animal or a dead animal. It is a different crime scene relative to a burglary, theft, murder or any other crime. Sometimes, that is where gardaí struggle in terms of the skills they need to put a case together with regard to an animal cruelty prosecution. That is where a dedicated unit would be available to assist and advise them on that.