IN a stark warning over animal cruelty, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, made it clear that his Department is fully committed to the area of equine welfare and no abuses would be tolerated.

In 2017, some 137 different animal welfare organisations, including the ISPCA, DSPCA and smaller equine projects, received total funding of €2.4m from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Minister Creed told The Irish Field: “The area of equine welfare is one of the areas where the Department would receive most calls and communications on from the public. We do get quite a number of calls to our dedicated Animal Welfare Helpline. It (equine welfare calls) is tapering off now. When the economic crash came, there was quite a big issue with welfare but one case is one too many.”

The Minister also said that much work had been done to update the relevant legislation dealing with the whole area of animal and equine welfare.

“We substantially updated our legislative framework for dealing with animal welfare issues, not just equine welfare issues, and increased the sanctions for those found guilty of welfare offences. You could now face up to five years imprisonment on conviction. We prefer to work with and prevent these. We have a dedicated Animal Welfare Line in the Department for all (welfare) issues.

“We provide a lot of funding to welfare organisations. Some 137 organisations received in 2017 some €2.4m but there is not a dedicated, single equine welfare authority. We don’t have a national welfare body that responds to all individual issues. Instead our interventions are geographically spread, appropriate, and by and large we work with voluntary organisations and the local authorities.”

In terms of urban horse projects, Minister Creed singled out the Dublin Horse Project in Clondalkin as a flagship project. “One of the most enjoyable functions I attended was the Dublin Horse Project in Clondalkin where the Department had given assistance to the local authorities to the tune of €500,000 towards an urban horse project. It is one of a number the Department is involved in around the country.”

STAMP DUTY

In relation to the Stamp Duty controversy, Minister Creed stressed that the overwhelming majority of transactions in Irish agricultural holdings will not be at 6% or 2%.

“It will either be at 1% or entirely exempt from stamp duty and that’s because under the consanguinity relief, where a farm is transferred within a family, the vast majority are father to son or daughter but there are other prescribed relatives that benefit under this, that stamp duty liability will be at 1% and if you are a young, trained farmer under 35, it is at zero. The overwhelming majority of transactions will be at zero or 1%.”

HALLOWEEN WARNING

Meanwhile, with Halloween this weekend, the ISPCA urged people to take extra care of their horses, farm animals and pets.

ISPCA CEO, Dr Andrew Kelly said: “The noise and activity of Halloween can distress animals. If you witness an animal being subjected to cruel treatment, please notify your local Gardaí immediately and contact the ISPCA National Animal Cruelty Helpline on 1890 515 515 or report online at http://www.ispca.ie/cruelty_complaint.”

While the ISPCA has a dedicated team of nine Animal Welfare Inspectors currently covering 17 counties, the organisation said it “cannot help animals in some parts of the country as we do not have enough inspectors.”