Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022
953. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider banning the surgical artificial insemination of greyhounds and other canines due to the growing body of veterinarian medical evidence regarding animal welfare issues from surgical artificial insemination of canines and in view that Britain has outlawed the practise. [7893/22]
View answerMy Department has not received any welfare complaints in relation to the procedure outlined by the Deputy. There are no related policy proposals being considered currently.
The artificial insemination of greyhounds is regulated under the Artificial Insemination of Greyhounds Act, 2005. There are no plans to amend these regulations at present.
Under the Veterinary Practice Act 2005, the definition of the practice of veterinary medicine includes diagnosing disease, injury, pain, deformity, defect or state of health of an animal, identifying and carrying out treatment, whether surgical or medical in nature, of any such matters and performing a surgical procedure on an animal.
It is an offense (with a few limited exceptions) for anyone other than a registered veterinary practitioner to undertake such activities. Furthermore, the practice of veterinary medicine must only be undertaken from a premises for which a certificate of suitability has been issued by the Veterinary Council of Ireland
The Veterinary Council of Ireland is the statutory body that regulates the practice of veterinary medicine in the State - it maintains a register of veterinary practitioners, veterinary nurses and veterinary premises for which a certificate of suitability has been issued.
