Written answers

Monday, 9 September 2024

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Animal Breeding

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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1238.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will propose legislation to limit the number of greyhound pups and foals born each year; if he will limit litters to two per bitch and two foals per mare; and if he will ensure that this legislation includes the need for these bitches and mares to then be legally rehomed.[34369/24]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Neglect of or causing unnecessary suffering to animals is not acceptable in our society. My Department has lead policy responsibility within Government for animal welfare and takes its role most seriously. I am committed to the policy that animal welfare standards are vigorously applied in a fair and even-handed manner. My Department keeps animal welfare legislation under review with respect to developments in the areas of animal welfare and with regard to the practical lessons learnt from operating the 2013 Animal Health and Welfare Act. For example, I am currently in the process of drafting legislation to ban the use of e-collars and my Department is in the process of analysing the responses of my recent public consultation regarding surgical artificial insemination in greyhounds, which closed on 26 July 2024.

The Welfare Of Greyhounds Act, 2011, Section 11, outlines restrictions in relation to the number of litters permitted when breeding greyhounds to six over its lifetime with an additional two permitted once certified by a veterinary practitioner. At present, I have no plans to change existing legislation. There is currently no legislation restricting the number of foals per mare however their gestation period of 11 to 12 months, naturally limits the number of foals that can be borne to a mare annually.

Regarding the rehoming of greyhounds, Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

RCÉ has several initiatives to rehome retired greyhounds. It financially incentivises the rehoming of greyhounds in Ireland through the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust (IRGT). Financial supports are also provided by RCÉ to qualifying private rehoming organisations and it also supports retired greyhounds in the USA and Canada through Greyhound Pets of America (GPA), Finding Loving Irish Greyhounds Homes Together (FLIGHT) and Flying Irish Greyhounds.

In relation to the rehoming of horses, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion, and development of the horse racing industry.

HRI provides funding to a number of organisations which seek to support the rehoming and retraining of thoroughbreds no longer active in racing including TreoEile.com – a new digital platform connecting racehorse owners with those seeking to rehome/retrain ex-racehorses for new careers. TreoEile has established a series of classes for showing of ex-racehorses, a series of clinics to upskill those retraining ex-racehorses and has worked on the digital platform to ensure that opportunities for ex-racehorses are optimised. HRI also provides funding to the Irish Horse Welfare Trust which was established in 1999 to provide a dedicated centre that is equipped for dealing with the rehabilitation and re-homing of equines.

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