Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to raise the issue of animal welfare, and not for the first time, in this Chamber. In the past week there have been two horrific cases of mutilated animals in south Dublin. A decapitated dog was found dumped in an apartment block bin shed and a couple of days later a decapitated cat was found in a green space in Ballyboden.I echo the calls of the DSPCA that anyone who has any information on what happened to these poor, unfortunate animals to come forward to An Garda Síochána. We cannot allow people who carry out such barbaric acts on defenceless animals to go unpunished. That said, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will tonight have a third session on the completely unnecessary cruelty that is being inflicted on dogs daily, some of which is legal in this country.

A couple of weeks, the committee heard from Mr. Tim Kirby of PetBond that surgical artificial insemination is on the increase in Ireland and in some cases is being carried out by non-vets. Surgical artificial insemination is cruel and has rightly been banned in Britain. While previously confined to the greyhound industry in this country, it is now happening right across the dog world to feed an insatiable desire for artificial breeds like pomskies. Whether it is being done to a greyhound, a bulldog or a Pomeranian, surgical artificial insemination is a highly invasive procedure that cannot be justified. To make matters worse, in 2021 there were 27 cases of dead dogs' semen being used in the greyhound industry.

The other practice of canine mutilation that is increasing in Ireland is ear-cropping. It is fashionable among bulldog and doberman breeds and while it is illegal in Ireland, animal welfare organisations and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have said the law needs to be strengthened as it is virtually impossible to prosecute anyone under the current legislation. Ear-cropping is a mutilation that denies a dog its basic means of communication and can have lifelong impacts on the dog’s welfare. I ask that we have a long overdue debate in the House on the issue of animal welfare but, in particular, dog welfare. We in Ireland need to hang our heads in shame when it comes to how we treat dogs and in what is legal in this country.