AS temperatures plunge across the country this weekend, plans are rolling into place by elected public representatives and animal welfare groups to host a future demonstration outside Dáil Éireann to highlight the issue of equine welfare and abuse cases.

The organisers are currently gathering 10,000 signatures in a petition which they will present to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in a bid to show the strength of public opinion over the ongoing plight of neglected horses, ponies and donkeys across the country.

The Dáil demonstration will be organised as soon as the 10,000 signatures are in place and the Tipperary organisers of the demonstration estimate that they will have all of them before the end of March.

Recently the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said there was no provision for a horse warden to be appointed on foot of a motion passed in favour of one by Tipperary County Councillors after several disturbing cases of dead starved horses came to light, triggering public outrage.

Clonmel Mayor Cllr. Catherine Carey (SF), who attended the Knocklofty scene, where the starved horses were found before Christmas, said councillors are determined not to give up on having a horse warden appointed for the county.

HORSE WARDEN

“We are deeply disappointed that the Department did not take our motion calling for a horse warden to be appointed for Tipperary on board. It’s very badly needed. I have been shocked and upset with the extent of the horse abuse problem. I had never seen anything like Knocklofty before and it was really awful. Something must be done.

“Everyone is in favour of it. We have to end the cruelty and suffering of neglected horses in our country.

“It is not just Tipperary, is is a widespread problem – Dublin, Limerick.

“Some of these horses are on private lands but very many of them are on County Council lands. We, as councillors, have a real responsibility here.

Petition

“We are going to have a demonstration over the equine abuse issue in Ireland outside the Dáil. Animal Welfare Ireland are gathering the 10,000 signatures we need for the petition.

“We are going to hand it to Leo Varadhar himself. Equine abuse is something that we just cannot let go on year after year, winter after winter.

“The welfare organisations have been brilliant and doing what they can. However, more needs to be done on the equine identification so we can find out who owns these horses.

“We really must have the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine take this issue (horse warden) on board. All horses need to be microchipped and passported. These people are breaking the law by not complying with the regulations that are there. We have to act on this. We are spending millions on this problem as a country each year and horses are still suffering. There must be a better way to do it,” said Cllr. Carey.

While there is no current provision for the appointment of a horse warden for Tipperary – or elsewhere – political pressure will be kept up for it to be included in upcoming estimates.

“We are not just going to leave it at that. We are going to keep pushing for a horse warden to be appointed; for provision to be made and for that to be taken on board and implemented. We will keep up the pressure.

“This is an issue that is too important to leave. It’s everywhere and I’m told that the time between February and March onwards is the really bad time for grazing horses as they don’t have enough food,” said Cllr. Carey.