Council unable to rehome 51 horses
By Maurice Garvey
A LACK of available space at animal welfare charities, has meant South Dublin County Council have been unable to rehome over 50 horses seized this year.
Up to 59 horses have been seized by the local authority in 2018 to date.
Details of all horses seized are published in an effort to identify the owners
None of the horses have been reclaimed, although SDCC did manage to rehome eight of the animals.
Fianna Fáil Councillor Charlie O’Connor asked for details on the number of horses seized and reclaimed in the last year, at Monday’s monthly county council meeting.
A spokesperson for SDCC said: “In terms of rehoming, a number of charities are currently full which poses a challenge to South Dublin County Council’s commitment to rehome as many horses as possible.”
In 2017, SDCC seized 227 horses, most of which were euthanised – only five were reclaimed, and 11 rehomed.
SDCC say they engage with a competent contractor for the provision of a horse pound facility, where all seized horses are taken, microchipped on arrival, and examined by a veterinary practitioner.
Details of all horses seized are published in efforts to identify the owners so that, where possible, horses may be reclaimed.
Re-homing
Horses seized and not reclaimed by their owners within a period of five days, may be disposed of by way of sale or re-homing. Horses which are unsuitable for re-homing are euthanised.
SDCC said a new rehoming policy is being finalised with the contractor, through a number of reputable horse charities that have a premises registered under the Department of Agriculture.
Horse owners need to show proof of ownership, horse licence, passport, and details on suitability of location where the horse is to be kept, if they wish to reclaim a seized horse.
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