Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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314. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his Department intends to publish the results of the 2024 public consultation on surgical artificial insemination (SAI) in dogs; and the proposed legislative timetable to prohibit SAI in all dogs, including greyhounds, in line with recent recommendations from organisations (details supplied). [60520/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations.

However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhound Regulations 2005.

The report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs, which was approved by Government in March 2023, and has been published online at gov.ie, includes a recommendation that surgical artificial insemination in canines be prohibited, where the word canine encompasses all breeds of dogs.

In 2024, my Department held a public consultation on whether the practice of carrying out surgical artificial insemination in greyhounds should be banned or not. It is anticipated that the results of the public consultation will be published by the end of 2025.

My Department is closely examining this issue and will be providing advice on an appropriate course of action in the near future.