Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

18. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the issue of unwanted horses and equines will be addressed in the animal welfare conference to be held in May; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13221/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The planning of the conference is still in the early stages but at this point I can say that it will focus on many of the changes being made to the animal welfare regime, including those introduced by the new Animal Health & Welfare Act 2013. The issue of animal welfare is broad and the welfare of horses will undoubtedly be one of the topics discussed.

With regard to animal welfare, my Department devotes considerable resources to this area and, in particular, to the welfare of horses. My Department paid some €3m to the Local Authorities under the Control of Horses Act in 2013 to enable them to deal with stray and unwanted horses. This enabled the Local Authorities to remove almost 4,000 stray or unwanted horses last year and thereby resolve a number of serious horse welfare situations. A further significant number of horses have been removed since the beginning of the year.

In addition, in December 2013, I announced funding of €1.8m to 136 organisations involved in animal care and welfare services throughout the country to support their activities in 2014. The level of funding being provided to these organisations was increased for the third year in a row, reflecting the importance I attach to their work. The increased funding was concentrated on those organisations involved in horse welfare, to ensure sufficient resources are available to enable them cater for any difficulties arising in the area of horse welfare during 2014 and to assist them in complying with new legislation on equine identification and equine premises registration.

I should emphasise that responsibility for the welfare of horses rests primarily with their owners and that the level of penalties to be imposed for breaches of animal welfare has been significantly increased under the new Animal Health and Welfare Act. My Department is working closely with the local authorities, the Gardaí and animal welfare bodies with a view to ensuring compliance with animal welfare legislation and addressing horse welfare issues generally and, where necessary, removing stray or unwanted horses.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

19. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will implement a strategy to deal with the growing problem of neglected horses in view of the current logistical problems faced by the DSPCA who are located at a great distance from many of the problem areas. [13075/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department devotes considerable resources to the area of animal welfare and, in particular, to the welfare of horses. In December 2013, I announced funding of €1.8m to 136 organisations involved in animal care and welfare services throughout the country to support their activities in 2014. The level of funding provided to the organisations was increased for the third year in a row, reflecting the importance I attach to their work. Increased funding was concentrated on organisations involved in horse welfare, including the DSPCA, to ensure sufficient resources are available to enable them cater for any difficulties arising in the area of horse welfare during 2014 and to assist them in complying with new legislation on equine identification and equine premises registration. The DSPCA received an amount of €210,000 (compared with €150,000 the previous year) to assist the society in its activities in 2014.

In addition to funding animal welfare bodies, my Department has very active engagement with local authorities and the Gardai on control of horses' issues. In 2013, my Department paid some €3.1m to the local authorities to assist them in their work under the Control of Horses Act, 1996 in dealing with stray, abandoned and unwanted horses. Of this, almost €568,000 was provided to the four local authorities in the Dublin area. This enabled the removal of in excess of 4,700 stray or unwanted horses last year (of which almost 840 seizures related to the Dublin county and city area). The removal of such a significant number of horses in the Dublin area has undoubtedly resolved a number of potentially serious horse welfare situations and has alleviated the burden on the animal welfare bodies, including the DSPCA, operating in the Dublin catchment area.

A further significant number of abandoned and welfare compromised horses have been removed since the beginning of this year. In addition to the ongoing work of local authorities in addressing horse welfare issues, my Department's veterinary officials continue to adopt a proactive approach in dealing with and addressing horse welfare issues, where appropriate in conjunction with the DSPCA and other animal welfare bodies and with local farming representatives and the local authorities.