Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2015
170. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of cases of animal cruelty prosecuted in 2014; the number of of convictions secured; and the average sanction imposed. [5269/15]
View answerProsecutions have been taken under animal welfare legislation including the Protection of Animals Act, 1911 and 1965; the Animal Health and Welfare Act, 2013 which I commenced in 2014 (and which replaced the aforementioned Protection of Animals Acts) and under related EU animal welfare legislation. In terms of cases initiated by and on behalf of my Department, there is in the order of thirty cases being progressed with three prosecutions to date. With regard to the three cases, in one case sanction will be administered by the Courts at a later date, in another the individual was prohibited from keeping animals of the type in question and in the third case the individual was ordered to sell his animals.
