IRISH SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

Evidence submitted to

The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

14th July 2014

Presented by

Dr Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive Officer

and

Barbara Bent, Chair of ISPCA Board of Directors

Introduction

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is recognised as Ireland’s national animal welfare organisation. Founded in 1949, the ISPCA has been providing front line animal welfare services for over 65 years, and is the umbrella organisation for 20 local animal welfare organisations across Ireland. The ISPCA is concerned for the welfare of all animals in all circumstances, but recognises that animals will be used in a number of different ways within society and strives to ensure that welfare of all animals is protected.

The ISPCA currently operates two rescue centres, the National Animal Centre in Keenagh, Co. Longford and an equine rescue centre in Mallow, Co. Cork. Both sites deal with those animals most in need, those that have been abandoned, neglected or cruelly treated. The NAC deals with equines, dogs, cats and other species, while the equine centre in Cork deals mostly with equines. The NAC has capacity for about 20 equines, while the equine centre in Cork has capacity for around 50 equines.

The ISPCA is funded mostly by public donations and we receive an ex-gratia grant from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

National Cruelty Helpline

The ISPCA operates a national cruelty helpline (1890 515 515), which accepts calls from members of the public reporting incidences of animal cruelty. Such incidences can also be reported via the ISPCA website ( In 2014, the helpline received over 21,000 calls.

ISPCA Inspectorate

The ISPCA has a team of six uniformed Animal Welfare Inspectors, covering 14 counties. We are currently in the process of recruiting two more Inspectors, for Limerick and Waterford & South Tipperaray, which will increase our team to eight Inspectors covering 17 counties. Over the coming years we aim to provide coverage for all 26 counties.

In May 2014, the ISPCA entered into a Service Agreement with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine under section 74 of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which authorised ISPCA Inspectors under the Act. Our Inspectors now exercise a function under the Act other than the exceptions detailed in the Service Agreement. ISPCA Inspectors do not exercise a function in relation to:

a)An animal of the bovine, ovine, porcine or caprine species which is kept on a farm for the commercial production of food for human consumption or a horse on such a farm,

b)Horse racing events organised by Horse Racing Ireland or Horse Sport Ireland,

c)Stud farms registered with the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association,

d)The premises of horse trainers licensed by the Turf Club, or

e)A greyhound racing establishment operated by the Irish Greyhound Board or a greyhound breeding establishment within the meaning of the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011

Since becoming authorised officers in May 2014, ISPCA Inspectors have initiated over 45 prosecutions under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, three of which have already been finalised in court with positive outcomes.

Equine Welfare

The ISPCA has dealt with significant equine welfare issues over the years. Between 2008 and 2014, the ISPCA National Cruelty Helpline received 10,374 complaints regarding equine welfare (average = 1729/year), Figure 1.

Figure 1 Equine complaints received by the ISPCA National Cruelty Helpline between 2008 and 2014.

Over the same time period, ISPCA Inspectors seized (or had surrendered to them) 401 equines ranging from donkeys to ponies to thoroughbreds and covering both rural and urban areas. The numbers seized / surrendered has increased from 13 in 2008 to 103 in 2014, Figure 2. By the end of May 2015, 51 equines had been seized surrendered, suggesting that the trend is going to continue. These equines suffer from a range of problems, including starvation, hoof problems and injuries. Many have been abandoned and the owners could not be traced either because the equines were not microchipped or because the last known owner, when traced, claimed that they had been sold on. Less than 10% of those equines seized by the ISPCA are thoroughbred or ex-racehorses.

Figure 2The numbers of equines seized / surrendered to ISPCA Inspectors between 2008 and 2014.

Equine legislation

The ISPCA has welcomed and supports recent changes to legislation relating to equines, including registration of equine premises, microchipping, passporting and transfer of ownership regulations. However, we are concerned that a lack of enforcement by DAFM has resulted in widespread non-compliance.

The ISPCA has long called for transfer of ownership regulations which placed a responsibility on both the vendor and the buyer of an equine to update the passport details held by the Passport Issuing Office (PIO). On a number of occasions the ISPCA has seized an abandoned, microchipped horse but have been unable to ascertain ownership as the last known owner simply claims to have sold it on. We were pleased when SI No. 189 of 2014, Equidae (Transfer of Ownership) Regulations 2014 came into force on 1st July 2014 as it did put a responsibility on both the vendor and the owner to update the record.

However, we were disappointed when this was replaced in December 2014 by SI No. 601 of 2014, Equidae (Transfer of Ownership)(No.2) Regulations, which came into force on 1st January 2015 and which returned the responsibility the buyer only, which was a huge step backwards in the ISPCA’s opinion. We queried this with DAFM, who informed us that SI189 had been replaced by SI601 following consultation with stakeholders. The ISPCA nor any other welfare organisation were consulted on this important change.

For equine legislation to have the desired impact it must be effectively enforced and all equines must be fully traceable throughout their lifetime. Unfortunately, it is our experience that enforcement varies both between and within counties, with a lack of consistency between DAFM and Local Authority veterinary inspectors.

Case studies

Ex racehorce, abandoned in Co. Westmeath in 2013. Last known owner traced and claimed that the horse had been sold on but could not supply details of buyer. Subsequently rehomed. /
Ex racehorce, abandoned in Co. Donegal in 2013. Last known owner traced and claimed that the horse had been sold on but could not supply details of buyer. Subsequently rehomed. /
Ex racehorse, seized in Co. Carlow in April 2015. Subsequently euthanased to prevent further suffering. /

Summary

The ISPCA deals with over 1700 equine related calls each year and between 2008 and 2014 seized 401 horses. Most of the seized equines are low value horses, ponies and donkeys, but around 10% are thoroughbred. In most cases the last known owner claimed that they have sold the horse on, but are unable to provide information about the new owner. There is currently no requirement on the vendor to update the data held by the PIO. There is currently a lack of enforcement of existing legislation and a lack of consistency between and within counties with regard to enforcement.

Recommendations

1. Enforce existing legislation effectively.

2. Ensure consistency between DAFM and Local Authority Veterinary Inspectors.

3. Review Transfer of Ownership Regulations and put responsibility on both the vendor and the buyer to update details with the Passport Issuing Office.

Dr Andrew Kelly and Barbara Bent for the ISPCA

July 2015

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