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SPAYWEEK IRELAND 2008
This year Spayweek will be running from the 25th of May to the 1st of June.
Keep an eye on www.spayweekireland.ie for more information.
For a list of vets in Clare and Galway participating in the Dogs Trust Neutering Scheme
or for links to other websites with neutering information go to our Help Them page
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Clare Animal Welfare would like to acknowledge the ex-gratia payment of €15,000 we received from the
Department of Agriculture the week before Christmas. It was indeed a very welcome and appreciated Christmas present
and although it did not get our bank balance completely out of the red it has given it a large jump in the right direction.
We anxiously await further news and updates on the new animal welfare policy referred to by Minister Coughlan in her ex-gratia payments
press release and hope that it brings a brighter future into being for the animals of the country.
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Clare Animal Welfare Press Release 16th December 2007
"A PEOPLE PROBLEM, NOT A DOG PROBLEM"
2006 DOG POUND FIGURES RELEASED
Its a never ending circle, a never ending argument and it continues on a weekly basis, animals are dying. In 2006 in Ireland a total of 24,311 dogs entered the country's dog pounds, of that figure 14,598 were put down. The totals in 2006 for the Clare Dog Pound were 2025 dogs entered the pound and 1530 were put down. (Figures obtained from the Department of Environment's website http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/DogControl/ )
Clare Dog Pound will no doubt get 'wrongly' criticised for their totals ('wrongly' because it is the people of the county who have brought these figures into being and ourselves who continue to cause the existence of high numbers in the county's pound, not the Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, or any members of his staff). The fact that Clare's totals are so high is in actual fact proof and evidence of the amount of time, effort and energy that Frankie and his staff put into their jobs and the lack of regard in people towards animals. Dog pound figures are the result of a people problem, not a dog problem, and we, the people of the county, need to take action and think about what we can do to help reduce the pound's entry and destruction rates.
In some counties, local rescue groups rescue dogs from their local pounds, the Dublin pound figures in particular are proof of the effects these actions can have on the overall figures, for example Dublin City's pound in 2006 took in 1,538 dogs and a mere 178 of those were put down. Unfortunately, for the dogs, Clare Animal Welfare cannot help the pound dogs in this county, we have trouble helping all those we get calls about as it is. Under the Control of Dogs Act all dogs must wear identification at all times such as a dog tag on their collar, a microchip or a tatoo. It is also against the law to allow a dog to wander off their owners property unattended. We will all be fully aware from seeing the physical evidence that these are two laws that are completely ignored by a large number of the county's dog owners. By allowing your dog to stray you are putting it's life and the life of others at risk.
In 2008 one of the issues we intend to keep to the forefront of our campaign is that of spaying and neutering of pets. The time for us all to take responsibility for the vast amount of unwanted pups and kittens and the mindless intentional overbreeding of dogs. We are asking people, who have not yet done so, to please ring their vet to arrange an appointment to have their pet(s) spayed or neutered. If they are in receipt of a Social Welfare Payment and they bring their dog to a vet who is participating in the Dogs Trust Neutering Scheme then they will only have to pay €14.00 for the procedure. If they are not getting social assistance payments or it is a cat they wish to have spayed/neutered but cannot afford the entire cost of the operation themselves they can contact us and we will try to help towards the cost where possible.
We All Have A Part To Play In The Solution ....Make It Your New Year's Resolution ..... Please Spay / Neuter Your Pets
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CAW PRESS RELEASE IN RELATION TO FINGAL COUNCIL’S BAN
ON THE USE OF WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES
10th October 2007
We at Clare Animal Welfare are all delighted to hear of Fingal Council's decision to ban wild animals in circuses from their jurisdiction. We hope Clare County Council will soon follow suit. The cruelty inflicted on wild animals by circuses is well documented. Wild elephants often roam 20 kms a day, in contrast elephants owned by Irish circuses often spend around 20 hours a day shut in a small wagon with barely room to turn around. We have witnessed elephants chained at the Ennis Mart and the Showgrounds, rocking and swaying in desperation as they are chained for hours on end, a distressing sight indeed. Sarah Mortimer and Kate Browne, Clare Animal Welfare Tel 086 1031662/ 087 7954351
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Clare Animal Welfare supports the “Deed Not The Breed” campaign
Clare Animal Welfare supports ANVIL Ireland and other Deed Not The Breed campaigners in highlighting and campaigning against Dublin City Council's decision on Friday last to ban all breeds in the dangerous dogs list from their houses in council estates and their proposal to extend this to include any council parks under their remit, etc. Full details - Dublin City Council bans 'dangerous dog breeds' by Olivia Kelly
Eleven breeds of dog, including Rottweilers, Bull Terriers and German Shepherds have been banned from all Dublin City Council properties, including houses, flats and estates, with immediate effect. The council has said it will give tenants an opportunity to rehouse the animals but if alternative suitable accommodation cannot be found for them they will be destroyed. The council has taken the step to remove all "dangerous breeds" due to the increasing numbers of complaints from tenants and because of the legal implications associated with an attack taking place on one of its properties. The ban initially applies to council housing and all public areas within council estates.
However, the council plans to amend its bylaws to include public parks in the ban. This would mean that anyone owning a dangerous dog could not walk it in a public park, even if they lived in private housing. The council has also written to the Minister for the Environment asking him to ban all breeds of fighting dogs nationally. The 11 breeds are not banned for general ownership in Ireland but must be muzzled, kept on a special leash and be under the control of a person over 16 years old.
The breeds are: English Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Doberman, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Japanese Akita, Bull Mastiff, Japanese Tosa and Bandog. Cross-breeds of these dogs or crosses of these dogs with any other breed are also banned.
Executive manager of the council's housing department Michael O'Neill said tenants would be asked to remove any banned dogs but if they failed to comply the council would take them away. "Our information on these dogs is that that they can be very aggressive and while they might be family pets, that has to come secondary and would be no defence to us if a child or other vulnerable person was attacked on our property."
Labour councillor Kevin Humphreys said he understood council tenants may feel discriminated against, but he hoped that this was just the first step to banning these breeds nationally. © 2007 The Irish Times http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage...3751555449.html
The DSPCA have already spoken out against the Dublin City Councils decision - An animal protection group is describing the move by Dublin City Council to ban 11 breeds of dogs from its properties as "totally irresponsible". The Council will no longer allow certain breeds of dogs, including Rottweilers and German Shepherds, to be kept in its houses and flats. The ban on the so-called "dangerous breeds" may also to be extended to public parks. Jimmy Cahill from the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said today that the council is effectively sentencing the dogs to death. http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhkfidaumhey/
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ANVIL Ireland - Saturday, July 7th, 2007 : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Death sentence looms over family pets following Dublin City Councils’ decision
Many family pets are at risk of being destroyed following the decision by Dublin City Council to ban all dogs listed under the Control of Dogs (Restriction of Certain Dogs) Regulations, 1991. Restricted breeds include; the American Pit Bull Terrier, Bulldog, Bull Mastiff, Dobermann Pinscher, English Bull Terrier, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Ban Dog or any crosses of these breeds.
ANVIL Ireland has condemned this move. Spokesperson, Miriam Anderson stated “this decision appears to have been made in the absence of any informed discussion with rescue or welfare groups. The fact that Dublin City Council has referred to all of these breeds as “dangerous dogs” implies a total lack of understanding of both the breeds in question and the existing legislation”.
Some of these breeds were originally bred as herding animals, it is bad breeding, irresponsible owners, and negative reporting by certain sections of the media that has led to this situation. Education and stricter enforcement of the existing legislation is what is needed, not an outright ban. Such bans have not worked in other countries and to say certain breeds of dogs are dangerous is not an accurate statement. All dogs can be dangerous if in the hands of an irresponsible owner
This is discrimination against council tenants as well as any responsible owner of one of these breeds. The councils’ proposed bylaw amendments will mean that these animals could not be walked in a public park, regardless of where its’ owner lives.
ANVIL members are angry but not surprised by the councils’ decision; “It further proves how little we care for companion animals in this country when an ill advised decision like this can be taken so quickly, but we have waited over a year for the implementation of the dog breeding regulations, and almost 100 years for updated animal protection legislation. We cannot call ourselves civilised if we can treat animals in this cavalier fashion”, their spokesperson said.
ANVIL is calling on all owners of restricted breeds to write to Dublin City Council and the Minister for the Environment to register their opposition to the councils’ decision and proposal of a nationwide ban on these dogs. Further information may be obtained from www.anvilireland.ie
For more information, contact: Miriam Anderson, ANVIL Ireland Co-ordinator on 0861999512 and/or visit the ANVIL Ireland website www.anvilireland.ie
http://www.anvilireland.ie/frulcrum.html?ep=45&ad=129&to=0
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No More Grey Days ...... A Mid-Year Report On Some Of Our Recent Rehoming Successes
Now midway through 2007 and Clare Animal Welfare are delighted to report that amongst all the dogs we have helped on to their new lives so far this year are five greyhounds who have emigrated to their new homes in countries across mainland Europe.
In March we bid farewell to Blue (Soft Day Man) who was adopted by a German couple to join with their existing dogs to work alongside them as a therapy dog at a nursing home in the south of Germany. We felt greatly honoured that they chose him from all the other greyhounds that were available for adoption throughout Ireland, indeed they were so amazed and delighted with him that it was not long before they started their search to adopt another retired Irish greyhound. Blue has become firm favourite with the residents at the nursing home.
We were still talking about Blue’s achievements when four weeks later we were put into contact with Francesca De Stefani from the Italian greyhound adoption group, Adozinoni Levrieri, who had approved homes waiting for female greyhounds. Detailed descriptions and photographs on the greys in our care were sent to them and much to our delight our two females, Ava (Ardnari Free) & Lisa (Power Tank) and two of our males, Taz (Blizten) & Jimmy (Voerde) were booked for travel. The preparations for their journey included spaying/neutering, worming, flea treatments, vaccinations to include Rabies, microchipping and passport applications so it was a busy time for us to ensure that everything ran smoothly when the departure day would arrive. We were delighted when we were contacted by Jenny of Abhaile Greyhounds that the Irish Greyhound Board were going to give us financial assistance with the associated medical expenses and transport costs involved.
The transport was organised for the 6th of June and because it was leaving early in the morning from the Cashel area we were very grateful when Cottage Rescue, who had five dogs of their own travelling, who are based in that area offered overnight accommodation for the night of the 5th for our four travellers to ensure that they would be ‘in the right place at the right time’!! A total of 40 greyhounds and lurchers from Ireland set off from Dublin port on the night of the 6th to start what sounds like an arduous journey but having received the protocols for the trip which included pit stops every four hours to enable the dogs to receive food/water, toilet breaks and a stretch for their legs it meant that we were comforted knowing they were in good hands.
After a few updates as the journey progressed we were delighted when the news came through that all the dogs arrived in Italy happy and healthy. Our email inboxes were soon flooding with photographs of our dogs with their new owners together with messages of huge thanks and delight from them to us for us permitting our dogs to travel to their new homes.
Wait it did not end there as Lisa had her final transport to board which would bring her to the arms of her new owner, Ondrej, who lived in the Czech Republic. We did not have to wait long for news on her as he was so ecstatic with his new arrival that he got in contact with us almost immediately and as soon as he had recharged his camera batteries we were bombarded with various poses of Lisa in her new home. In fact Ondrej was so impressed with the professional and caring manner in which the whole event was carried out that he has since become a member of the Czech sighthound adoption group and is now their translator.
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Due to the extreme temperatures mainland Europe gets during the summer months the next transport will not go ahead until September/October, however this does not mean we can sit back and relax as we were contacted by the Italians last week to let us know that Ricky (Skipper Saint Ricky) has a super home waiting for him already and that his new owners are counting down the days to the Autumn. Of course we would hope that some of the other greyhounds/sighthounds that are currently in our care and/or will arrive between now and then will also get reserved and can travel with Ricky.
Naturally we would love to be able to rehome some of our greyhounds closer to home but unfortunately the residents of this country have yet to recognise what our European counterparts have long since discovered and that is that retired greyhounds make great pets and companions. If you have ever wondered what sharing your home with one of these noble deities would entail you would be surprised to hear that they are the “world’s best couch potatoes” who merely require two twenty minute walks a day, loving human companionship and a comfortable bed in which they can stretch out and relax. It would probably surprise you even further to hear that some retired greyhounds have gone on to share their homes with cats and other small animals. If you would like to learn more about adopting a retired greyhound you can contact your local rescue who will be able to talk to you further about them or they will give you the details of someone else more experienced who will, it is usually also possible to speak with other people who have already given one a home to hear all about their experiences. If you are still unsure as to whether adopting a greyhound is the right thing for you then as there are so many greyhounds waiting for homes it may be possible for you to foster one so that you can get more of an insight on living with one but without the commitments associated with actual ownership. For further information you can contact us or you local rescue who will be able to assist you further or put you in touch with someone else who can.
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