I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. This Bill was introduced in Seanad Éireann as a Private Members' Bill. The sponsors of the Bill and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals deserve great credit for the manner in which they undertook the formidable task of preparing and introducing proposals designed to bring the legislation on the protection of animals into line with modern thought and practice. In doing so they have demonstrated that their humanitarian ideals are supported by a practical and commonsense outlook.
Before being introduced to Seanad Éireann, the text of the Bill was made available to the Government Departments concerned and was considered by the Government. There were discussions with the sponsors on certain aspects of the draft Bill which were unacceptable to the Government and a number of amendments acceptable to both sides were effected at that stage. Some further amendments and modifications were made during the passage of the Bill through the Seanad and the Bill as it now stands, with some very minor exceptions, is acceptable to my Department and to the Government. There are, however, a few matters in the Bill which I think should be clarified before being considered in the House.
In the first place, this Bill does not aspire to be a comprehensive measure. It is designed simply to amend and extend the basic enactment which is the Protection of Animals Act, 1911. Furthermore, there are certain aspects of the subject matter of the Bill which are catered for in other legislation. I shall refer to these later.
Section 7 of the Bill proposes to allow the use of poisonous gas in rabbit holes. Its use is at present illegal under the 1911 Act and the sponsors have in mind the use of cyanide gas which is regarded as a humane method of killing rabbits.
In Section 8 there is a provision proposing to prohibit as from 1st June 1968 the use of spring traps for the taking and killing of animals and there is an interim provision in Section 9 to regulate the use of spring traps in the meantime. I consider that a period of not less than four years should be allowed between the enactment of this legislation and the "appointed day" to enable alternative types of trap to be tested and I may ask the House at the Committee Stage to consider setting the appointed day for the purposes of these sections at a date later than 1st June, 1968.
Section 14 of the Bill proposes to regulate the laying of poison. This replaces a similar provision in the 1911 Act and I welcome it as a considerable improvement on the earlier legislation.
It will be noted that this section makes no special mention of strychnine. The reason for this is that special regulations to control strychnine are being made under the Poisons Act, 1961, and are at present at an advanced stage of preparation. I do not intend at this stage to give details of the proposed regulations but I can say that they are in accordance with the recommendations of the Poisons Council and I am satisfied that they will provide adequate safeguards.
Sections 19 and 20 relate to the exercising and leading of greyhounds. These sections have been greatly modified as compared with the original draft Bill and I consider that they represent a very sensible compromise between the views of the sponsors and the interests of the greyhound industry.
The proposals in Section 22 of the Bill relating to the use of anaesthetics in operations on animals were evolved after consultations between the sponsors, the Veterinary profession and my Department. At this point I should like to acknowledge the help given by the veterinary profession in the drafting of this section.