Maureen O'Sullivan
Ceist:594. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of prosecutions for cruelty to horses in counties Tipperary and Limerick. [37253/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 18 September 2018
Ceisteanna (594)
Freagraí scríofa
The introduction of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 provided for increased levels of penalties for animal welfare offences committed. For major cases taken on indictment, the maximum penalty was increased from €100,000 to €250,000, with a maximum custodial sentence of five years imprisonment.
The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 has changed the basis upon which animal owners must treat their animals and is specifically designed to allow early intervention in a much wider range of cases than the previous legislation allowed for.
An investigation into suspected abuse will invariably involve a visit to the land or premises concerned, a veterinary assessment of animals and the conditions in which they are kept and, where appropriate, gathering physical or documentary evidence; the person having possession or control of the animal or animals concerned will normally be interviewed. Where non-compliance or breaches of the Act are encountered, a range of measures can be used by an authorised officer depending on the severity and scale of the non-compliance. Minor non compliances may be addressed by means of advice or guidance or reference to codes of practice. For more serious issues, formal notices requiring specific corrective actions and/or fixed penalty notices may be issued. In the most serious cases, authorised officers will prepare files for prosecution, and some cases will require the seizure of animals on welfare grounds.
At present a number of suspected cases of equine neglect are under investigation in Limerick and Tipperary.