Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:recognises:

— the progress made since the introduction of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013;

— that, despite the progress, there are an increasing number of incidents and reports of animal mistreatment, cruelty and abuse; and

— that this rise in reported incidents of animal cruelty stems from neglect, poor regulations, lack of enforcement of current legislation, inadequate legislation and lack of sanctions for those responsible for these acts of cruelty;

acknowledges the substantial work of individuals, families, animal welfare groups and activists in highlighting these problems; and

calls for:

— the introduction of a comprehensive system of monitoring conditions in which animals are kept;

— robust regulations to protect animals from abuse, cruel treatment, neglect and poor living conditions;

— those accused of abuse or acts of cruelty to be held accountable for their actions;

— transparency in relation to anti-doping protocols, publishing details of testing and more out-of-competition unannounced testing; and

— a clear message from Government that cruelty to animals is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

I am sharing time. I am taking ten minutes, Deputy Broughan is taking five and Deputy Wallace is taking five.

I begin by acknowledging, applauding and thanking those individuals, families, organisations, communities and activists who continue to work for animal welfare and to expose the cruelty and neglect that goes on with animals in this country. There are positive measures in the Animal Health and Welfare Act but we would not be having this debate tonight if it was working and all its measures were being implemented.

If we look at the facts, the national animal cruelty helpline recorded over 53,000 calls in its first three years with more than 16,500 in the past year, including a range of animal issues from neglect to health issues such as chronic skin conditions, inflammation, untreated illnesses such as cancer, living in appalling conditions with no access to food or water and being found in emaciated conditions. These cases are coming from many counties. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ISPCA, cares for all animals, including companion, wild and farm animals, and animals used in entertainment, sport and research. It has eight uniformed inspectors to cover 17 counties. How serious are we about animal welfare with only eight inspectors? Eight cannot even cover what is in the legislation. I believe we are paying lip service to animal welfare. However, those inspectors initiated over 70 prosecutions with 30 finalised in court but even though the Animal Health and Welfare Act allows for significant fines and imprisonment, the penalties imposed by the court are all at the lower level of the range and are consequently derisory. That speaks for itself.

To look at particular examples, in a Topical Issue debate last year, I highlighted the matter of the abuse in puppy farms and gave the details about how it was in breach of the existing Dog Breeding Establishments Act. There were no upper limits. Inspections were by appointment with several weeks' notice. When improvement notices were given, the premises were invited to comply. A puppy farm passed by the local authority had multiples of the permitted number of dogs which were living in absolute squalor. County managers are being compelled into initiating enforcement procedures. We do not see any urgency in ensuring improvements are carried out and, in the meantime, the animals continue to live in appalling conditions. A vet in a certain county inspected an unregistered dog breeding establishment, found the dogs in unacceptable conditions and they were seized. He recommended that the owner be prosecuted, which happened, and he was convicted. While that case was pending, the same owner applied for a dog breeding licence and got it because the same vet granted the licence. He could have waited for the outcome.

In another example, an improvement notice was given to a facility. Enforcement was not followed up and the facility took two years to comply, and animals continued to live in appalling conditions. I also highlighted the puppy farm in County Cavan which was the subject of a documentary which showed appalling abuse and because the ISPCA was critical of Cavan County Council, officials there and in Leitrim asked that the ISPCA refrain from directly criticising them. The ISPCA was working to ensure that councils were enforcing the Dog Breeding Establishments Act and applying existing guidelines.

Another council had licensed a breeder for 300 dogs despite the fact the breeder did not have appropriate facilities or planning permission. Surely the local authorities, Department, vets and the Veterinary Council of Ireland should be on the same page as the ISPCA when it comes to animal welfare. The reply of the Minister of State, Deputy English, that night was, "that the scope of the existing guidelines needs to be enhanced as they are quite benign and represent a minimal standard that is probably no longer acceptable, particularly in view of recent issues that have arisen regarding some of the establishments", so a review of guidelines for dog breeding establishments would begin. In reply to a parliamentary question from Deputy Clare Daly and me last June, the Minister of State, Deputy English, said that the public consultation process closed on 1 February 2017 and that he expected the findings in June 2017 and that they would be considered without delay. This is October. Where are those findings?

I hope that when the guidelines come out, the next issue will be completely covered, which is the disposal of dog waste. There are at least 73 registered puppy farms, so at least 30,000 dogs being produced yearly. That is a lot of dog waste. Dog waste is linked with a number of diseases and is a serious threat to the environment, to health and to livestock if it is not properly disposed of. The Food Safety Authority has various rules and guidelines about untreated organic material, agricultural farms and agricultural land but it needs to consider dog breeding establishments too. A very detailed submission on this has been placed with An Bord Pleanála on a particular planning application for a particular puppy farm which had already been permitted by the local authority so the local authority is obviously not paying much attention to the health issues of dog waste and EU directives on the matter.

There is a total contradiction with hares in that the hare is protected under the Wildlife Act but the Act also allows hare coursing which we know is terrorising one animal with another. It is unnecessary cruelty, from the netting process, the transportation of hares, handling of hares, keeping them herded and the practice of blooding. Then we have coursing trials which are not monitored by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, though it attended a recent coursing trial and found that the coursing club planned to hold between 130 and 150 trials using 64 hares. The hares are only supposed to be coursed once a day and are then released, so the maths do not add up.

I would prefer to see an end to live hare coursing because there is an alternative, but in the meanwhile there is a need for coursing trials to be monitored. The National Parks and Wildlife Service should be informed of the location, dates and times and if it does not have enough personnel to monitor trials, they should be banned. We believe there is a strong lobby pressing the Minister to drop the condition that a hare would only be coursed once a day. Condition 20 of the licence to net hares is not being complied with, namely, that each surviving hare is earmarked with a non-toxic dye because we are reliably informed that a certain hare trapper goes to the release site to capture hares that have just been released and then goes around selling these hares to coursing clubs. Another hare trapper keeps a supply of hares at his establishment to sell on to coursing clubs which might be short of hares.

Another contradiction is that greyhound owners, including those opposed to coursing, have to register with the Irish Coursing Club if they want their greyhounds to take part in track racing. The Irish Coursing Club is over 90% financed by registration fees but the majority of greyhounds do not take part in coursing and the greyhound industry and greyhound welfare could use some of that funding. Greyhounds can live for up to 14 years, yet the lifespan for Irish greyhounds is three to four years. Thousands are put to sleep yearly including at race tracks where injuries are sometimes not treated. We have cases of greyhounds being dumped with their ears burned to remove markings which could identify the owner. There is the recently highlighted case of doping and a bizarre explanation from a trainer-owner of how cocaine could be found in a dog. I could provide a list of prohibited substances that have been found in random sampling of greyhounds in the past two years and a list of trainers of those dogs who have continued training. More out of competition testing is needed, as is full publication of the test and, if a class A positive is found, the Irish Greyhound Board should inform the Garda and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine since it is a State-funded industry.

Over the last year, campaign groups, individuals and the media have highlighted the fate of Irish greyhounds being exported to countries with poor or no animal welfare standards. Our greyhounds adapt well as family pets but when they are of no use here they are exported to horrific circumstances and cruel deaths to be used in the dog meat trade, as live bait in fights between wild animals in so-called zoos in places such as China, Pakistan, India and South America. They are also being exported through European countries and the US. If we are serious about animal welfare, we have to ban the export of all greyhounds to any country other than the UK with the exception of rescued greyhounds from established, reputable centres in Ireland going to reputable adoption groups abroad. We need more accurate and up-to-date traceability of all Irish-born greyhounds from birth to death.

The general live exports of farm animals involve long journeys, overcrowded conditions, deprivation of food and water, inadequate ventilation and rough handling. They are going to countries with immensely cruel slaughter practices. Evidence is available for all of this. We know that fox hunting continues. I accepted a petition this morning from a gentleman who had collected more than 10,000 signatures of people opposed to fox hunting. Whatever chance a fox might have in a hunt, it has no chance whatsoever in the cruel, barbaric practice of the digging out of foxes. Fur farming continues, albeit on a much smaller scale now but it is estimated that over 200,000 mink are killed in the remaining three fur farms in Ireland. I am glad that we have an amendment here on animals in circuses, which I will also support because we know that there are animals in circuses which are completely unsuitable for those animals.

We are still waiting on the roll-out of the vaccine which would eliminate the very cruel way badgers are treated. At the recent Ballinasloe Horse Fair, despite reduced numbers of attendees and animals there, the ISPCA was as busy as ever. Three ponies, three donkeys and ten dogs were removed. It goes on and on.

The legislation is worthless unless it is implemented and it is not being implemented. I do not know whether that is through indifference, ignorance or disinterest, allied with a lack of the adequate resources and personnel to ensure implementation.

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