Horse/pony neglect - have you any ideas on how to deal with this?

Sec

I am very concerned about the number of horses in the Galway city area that are being neglected at the moment. I believe that a lot of this has to do with the fact that before the recession people were breeding horses like crazy and now they don’t have the money to care for them. I live in an estate in Knocknacarra (Galway city) and at the moment across from the estate where I live there are four horses on very bad land with hardly any grass. They have been there since last Christmas and they often go days without their water bath being filled up and they rarely get hay. There are also Shetland ponies and other small horses tied up in estates in the Westside area and these are similarly neglected. I try to give them some bits of food and water but it only goes so far. I am particularly concerned about the approaching winter because if it’s anything like last year these animals are really going to suffer.

I have contacted the GSPCA, the Galway City Council and the Gardai on numerous occasions but I keep getting passed from person to person and I never seem to get anywhere. I arranged a meeting with Senator Niall O’Brolchain last week. He seemed genuinely concerned about this situation. We spoke about the problem in depth and we looked at ways to potentially alleviate it, or at least lessen it. One idea was to look at creating a register of horses in the area so that their owners can be identified if a horse looks like it has been abandoned or neglected. Another idea was to perhaps initiate a community scheme, maybe getting some volunteers to take to turns to fill up water baths and leave some food in the interim, and with a view to finding a more sustainable solution for the long term. We both realise that it’s a difficult situation given that owners of these horses often deny owning the horses.

The reason why I’m posting this here is because maybe readers of this could put forward their own ideas as to how to deal with this animal abuse. Senator O’Brolchain thought this was a good option and I do believe that he would be willing to help. I think that this is the only option when all the others seem to just pass the buck.

I have spoken to so many people in the area that are sickened by this neglect and I am just trying to gauge the amount of interest there might be. I would love to hear any constructive ideas please and thanks in advance.

sligopark

I honestly don't think there is much you can do since most of these neglected horses and ponies belong to non travelling peoples who claim it is their culture to own and neglect these same animals - recession or not.

I know this doesn't help but may put it into perspective.

convert

This is slightly off topic, but I vaguely remember hearing about somebody who was caring for a neglected horse or pony in a field and provided it with food and water to try and keep it alive.

They also contacted the local SPCA and after numerous calls the SPCA eventually called out to check on the horse, but informed the person they couldn't do anything because it had food and water. When they were told that the individual in question had provided it with the food and water, they were informed that they shouldn't have done so as, when inspected, the horse didn't appear to be neglected.

I can't remember where or when that was, but it shows you the frustrating catch-22 situation that exists as things stand at the moment. If you don't look after them, the horses will suffer, but if you do then you run the risk of the SPCA not being able to do anything.

convert

On an aside, this is at least the third or fourth post I've read concerning horses in Galway on boards.ie over the last while. Maybe have a quick search on boards.ie for them and see if you could get together with the other posters who highlighted the issue?

John Mason

Does Galway City Council have a dedicated stray horse department ?

Dublin City Council does, you call them tell them where the horses are they come and take them.

i have call to make to themself this week but i lost the horses :rolleyes: not sure where they wandered off to

Tranceypoo

irishbird wrote: »

Does Galway City Council have a dedicated stray horse department ?

Dublin City Council does, you call them tell them where the horses are they come and take them.

i have call to make to themself this week but i lost the horses :rolleyes: not sure where they wandered off to

That would be funny if it wasn't so sad, Galway only have 1 dog warden for the entire county and I've called a few times in the past over horses and get pushed from ispca, to hpl, to gspca and back again, noone is/wants to be responsible for them, in fairness to the gspca, they are innundated with calls and dogs and they do their best with the little resources they have. The only other way round it is if the horse is on land belonging to a farmer, then call the DOA because if they are deemed the farmers animals/responsiblity then the DOA will come out, I've done this twice in the past, once with horses and once with cows and both times the DOA came out and resolved the situations.

convert

Tranceypoo wrote: »

The only other way round it is if the horse is on land belonging to a farmer, then call the DOA because if they are deemed the farmers animals/responsiblity then the DOA will come out, I've done this twice in the past, once with horses and once with cows and both times the DOA came out and resolved the situations.

What happens if the land is leased (i.e. one individual owns it but has leased it to someone else and its the leasee's livestock or bloodstock which are on the land)?

Tranceypoo

convert wrote: »

What happens if the land is leased (i.e. one individual owns it but has leased it to someone else and its the leasee's livestock or bloodstock which are on the land)?

Hmm, I don't honestly know. But when I called about horses on a farmers land, I presumed/DOA presumed the farmer owned the horses unless it was proved otherwise. So I guess it's that whoever owns the land is responsible. This is just my guesswork/experience, not saying this is right or wrong info!

Discodog

I wouldn't hold your breath with O'Brolchain. He promised to do the same with the DBEB . As other posters have said the law does not consider neglect to be cruelty unless you can show/prove that the animal is suffering unnecessarily.

I would also contact your the County Veterinary Officer & talk to the Council regarding the Control of Horses Act.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1996/en/act/pub/0037/index.html#zza37y1996

The Council would need to designate Galway as a "Controlled Area" which they can do by a simple bye law. Once this is done then owners have to be registered. I would suggest that a list is made of all the relevant animals & then speak to your Councillor regarding making a bye law.

Sec

I would also contact your the County Veterinary Officer & talk to the Council regarding the Control of Horses Act.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1996/en/act/pub/0037/index.html#zza37y1996

The Council would need to designate Galway as a "Controlled Area" which they can do by a simple bye law. Once this is done then owners have to be registered. I would suggest that a list is made of all the relevant animals & then speak to your Councillor regarding making a bye law.

Thanks for the ideas Discodog. I am going to forward them to Niall O'Brolchain as he was looking for suggestions. He never claimed that he had a solution but at least he's willing to listen. I might send a link to this thread to him. The way things are at the moment something constructive has to be done. I want to try to keep this thread (suggestions) going because I don't want to end up back at square one.