I thank the Chairman. The invitation to make a submission to the committee is very timely, given the growing and very serious problem of stray horses in County Kilkenny. The council has by-laws in place under the Control of Horses Act and some of the main provisions are: the entire county of Kilkenny is a control area; there is a requirement for a horse licence; certain persons are exempt under the by-laws from licensing requirements; it is illegal to lead or drive a horse in a public place unless the horse is licensed and has a bridal; and it is illegal to allow a horse to graze in a public place.
The problem areas are specific to the location of Traveller accommodation at two locations in Kilkenny city and a third location in south County Kilkenny. This location in the south is specific to the presence of Traveller families.
The numbers of horses involved are ever-changing and figures are available only for the two locations in Kilkenny city. Our figures are based on readily visible animals only. Variables include the visibility of horses, topography and knowledge of land. We have regular surveys over the summer months, starting in March. We had a high of 152 horses in or around the city in June. Our last count on 23 September gave us a figure of 111.
The following has been learned from our surveys since March: the numbers and locations of horses are in a constant state of flux; a number of stallions are standing at stud, especially in the eastern environs area of Kilkenny city; during the breeding season — spring and summer — there appears to be visiting mares which require accommodation; there are serious animal welfare concerns for the horses involved and the horses we have impounded; all female horses are bred resulting in a population explosion; and there is an increase in ownership of thoroughbred-type mares, mainly for racing.
Under the by-laws, enforcement has involved periodic impoundments from public lands. This year there have been two such operations in County Kilkenny. On 8 June, 20 horses were impounded in the city. Some 17 were reclaimed and three were rehomed or euthanised. On 29 June, nine horses were impounded in the city, six were reclaimed and three were rehomed or euthanised. The costs involved are recouped from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
In recent weeks, 12 horses were impounded in an operation organised by gardaí in Piltown. The 12 horses were on a public road. Over the past weekend, two horses were impounded. Of these 14 horses, four have been reclaimed.
The pound we use is a very secure privately-owned pound located in the county. In the past, impounded horses have been illegally removed from insecure publicly-owned pounds. Private contractors are engaged by the county council to undertake the rounding up of stray horses and their transport to the pound. The contractors are accompanied by gardaí on all impoundments. Such exercises are normally undertaken under cover of darkness to avoid serious confrontation.
When necessary, on the day following an impounding operation, private security personnel are engaged to be present at the county council offices when the owners call to seek and arrange the release of the horses. Such security measures were required following incidents of serious intimidation of council staff.
I refer to the fees involved. It costs €475 for a horse to be reclaimed from the pound. There is an annual contract or retainer fee payable to the private contractor engaged to impound. This is recouped from the Department. To date, the fee for 2010 is €16,800, plus 13.5% VAT. The county council has had to dispose of 14 dead horses in 2010 at a cost of €2,736. The owners of the horses were unknown. These costs are not recoupable from the Department.
There are adequate laws in place to deal with the position in County Kilkenny. Legal issues surrounding land being provided in other local authority areas under the horse licensing procedure has proved problematic. The financial penalties in the form of impounding and pound fees the owners have to pay when reclaiming a horse are substantial. There is adequate provision for recoupment of costs from the Department, with the exception of the costs incurred in the disposal of dead horses.
To be successful, the stick approach of a regular and consistent regime of impounding is required. Given the time and staff resources required and, as important, the very tense and confrontational situations to which such exercises give rise, these exercises are very irregular in nature.
Possible solutions to the problem which presents in County Kilkenny include: an incentivised licensing system for all stallions in the country which should be performance related — in other words, they should be licensed to breed; culling and castration of unlicensed stallions; controls on the breeding of horses to be put in place — compulsory training and education if one is a horse breeder — similar to what is in place in agriculture; and a national cull of horses led by the Department.
We also have what I deem the carrot approach — the Kilkenny Traveller horse project which commenced in 2003 under the Kilkenny community action network and later the County Kilkenny Leader partnership. It led an initiative to develop a horse project which had as its core aims the following: to support Traveller culture, social and economic traditions; to build on the experience and skills that already existed within the Traveller community; to meet the requirements of horse keeping in order to comply with the Control of Horses Act; to provide training and skills development to participant Traveller horse owners; and to develop enterprises as part of the horse accommodation programme.
At the time there was an understanding that there was a commitment from the Department to provide capital funds of €350,000 to purchase the land required to house the horse project. This funding did not materialise. The Department provided an initial sum of €20,000 to fund the leasing of land on which the initiative could be developed. This funding was channelled through the county council. Land was leased at different locations over a three-year period. The project demonstrated potential but had to be shelved due to the lack of a permanent base.
The Kilkenny Traveller inter-agency group, which is a sub-group of the social inclusion measures committee of Kilkenny County Development Board, is representative of all the agencies that engage, at a local level, with the Traveller community of County Kilkenny and also of the Traveller community itself. It has identified the issue of Traveller horses as one of the three core actions for inter-agency collaboration. Sufficiently funded, we believe it offers the most appropriate and best vehicle through which the required level of engagement with Traveller men can be achieved. This group is available to re-engage on the Kilkenny Traveller horse project should funding be available to acquire land or lease land in the long-term on which the project can be housed.