merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today announced funding awards of €2,460,500 to 137 animal welfare organisations throughout the country involved in protecting animal welfare. The payments will be made with immediate effect.

Minister Creed said that ‘these organisations contribute greatly to protecting animals, by providing sanctuary for in many instances surrendered, abandoned and at-risk animals and the funding being awarded is evidence of my Department’s on-going commitment in the area of animal welfare and is a recognition of the important role played by these organisations in safeguarding animals particularly pet and companion animals’.

The Minister, in acknowledging the work of the welfare organisations took the opportunity to thank their staff and volunteers, ‘I wish to give a special mention also to the many volunteers and supporters involved with these organisations for their ongoing commitment to animal welfare’.

The workload for many of these organisations has increased over recent years on account of the greater enforcement of animal welfare legislation brought about in the main by the enactment of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, together with greater enforcement of equine identification and new dog microchipping legislation.

The Minister said that ‘while I don’t wish to be prescriptive on how organisations should use funds awarded, I would nevertheless ask that efforts be concentrated over the coming year in ensuring that through whatever means at your disposal e.g. posters, social media, education talks in schools, etc that you get the message out to people keeping equines and dogs on the necessity to have the animals identified as required under legislation’.

He continued, ‘I am greatly concerned with continuing incidences of sheep being terrorised and killed by roaming dogs and the message needs to get out to all dog owners in both urban and rural areas on the importance of knowing the whereabouts of your dog at all times’.

In many parts of the country, particularly urban areas, indiscriminate breeding particularly of dogs and cats has led to an oversupply of these animals and consequently increased abandonment and the Minister went on to say ‘I would remind recipients of funding of the importance of neutering programmes for cats and dogs and all animals being re-homed should be neutered unless veterinary opinion advises otherwise’. The Minister asked those welfare organisations involved in equine rescue to ensure that stallions being re-homed are castrated.

Some of the recipients of today’s funding are working in conjunction with Local Authorities and supported by the Department in developing facilities for urban and traveller horse populations and to educate young people among these communities in the care and welfare of horses. The Minister said that ‘these initiatives are a positive and welcome development and will assist horse owners in complying with equine related legislation including identification and control of horses and the education courses provided within the framework of the projects gives the horse owners an opportunity to acquire skills in relation to caring and managing horses alongside a broader education’.

The importance of good governance is stressed in all communications with the welfare organisations and funding recipients have been provided with and have signed up to the Terms and Conditions/Code of Practice to be adhered to and the Minister said that ‘these conditions set out my Department’s recommendations on sound welfare and management practices and it is important that these conditions are adhered to in their entirety’.

The Minister stressed the importance of adults being responsible when considering gifting animals as pets this Christmas time and said that ‘taking ownership of a pet involves an extensive commitment and a high financial cost and there are times that while gifting animals may well be well intentioned, the reality is that pets being gifted are often abandoned by their new owners when the novelty wears off and it is left to the animal welfare charities to deal with the consequences of these abandonments and this places unnecessary pressure on their resources’.

Finally, Minister Creed stated that he and his Department would continue to work closely with animal welfare groups. He reminded the public of the dedicated email address and helpline in operation in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for members of the public to report incidents of animal neglect and cruelty.