Foal killed in Galway

Roquentin

for anyone new who views the thread



http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/675/147/288/

Mrs OBumble

ingalway wrote: »

There is a Helpline operated by Dept of Agriculture - the phone only gets answered in the afternoon but you can leave a message at all other times. There is also an email address you can send animal welfare issues to.

This post got me wondering about the DoA's role. Didn't find much about that, but did find some interesting statistics here: http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/controlofhorses/


In 2012 (most recent available), Galway City seized 50 horses - and killed all of them.

So clearly they're not "doing nothing" about the horse problem.

But obviously their operational approach is quite different to that of other cities:
Limerick city: seized 215, returned 17 to owners, killed 193 (89%)
Cork city: seized 51, returned 27 to owners, killed 20 (39%).
Waterford city: seized 40, returned 20 to owners, killed 19 (47%).

(I don't think it's valid to compare us to Dublin or to rural areas.)


I wonder if anyone has consulted the horses re whether they'd prefer to be ridden by overgrown children, or killed.

Roquentin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

This post got me wondering about the DoA's role. Didn't find much about that, but did find some interesting statistics here: http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalwelfare/controlofhorses/


In 2012 (most recent available), Galway City seized 50 horses - and killed all of them.

So clearly they're not "doing nothing" about the horse problem.

But obviously their operational approach is quite different to that of other cities:
Limerick city: seized 215, returned 17 to owners, killed 193 (89%)
Cork city: seized 51, returned 27 to owners, killed 20 (39%).
Waterford city: seized 40, returned 20 to owners, killed 19 (47%).

(I don't think it's valid to compare us to Dublin or to rural areas.)


I wonder if anyone has consulted the horses re whether they'd prefer to be ridden by overgrown children, or killed.

It is often safer to be in chains than to be free.
Franz Kafka

TristanPeter

Hopefully now that Mike Cubbard has acknowledged the petition, other councillors will follow suit. If enough get behind it we should be able to get some progressive dialogue going regarding the horses on council lands and about what to do with the horses once seized. I don't think too many people would want to see them being killed. This all needs to be looked at in depth, other options weighed up.

Given Mairead Farrell's and Terry O'Flaherty's latest contributions to the local papers, I would at least expect them to join Mike Cubbard on this and offer support in the council.

Roquentin

TristanPeter wrote: »

Hopefully now that Mike Cubbard has acknowledged the petition, other councillors will follow suit. If enough get behind it we should be able to get some progressive dialogue going regarding the horses on council lands and about what to do with the horses once seized. I don't too many people would want to see them being killed. This all needs to be looked at in depth.

Given Mairead Farrell's and Terry O'Flaherty's latest contributions to the local papers, I would at least expect them to join Mike Cubbard on this and offer support in the council.

id say get in contact him and channel stuff through him. He seems like a good ally to have. A face to face meeting would be a great thing if it were to happen

fifib

3 horses in my local park this morning got startled by my dogs and nearly run me down.thank god no kids in green at time.anyways their now put on roads. Who cam i ring on a Saturday?

galwaygirl08

If horses are on the road you ring Millstreet straightaway. Ph number: 091 538000.
Also please ring the council and log the complaint. There is someone there to take calls at weekends. Ph number:
091 536400.

What area are you in?

Discodog

It would be a good idea to keep a log of these incidents as evidence to back up the petition etc.

Maybe ask people to take a photo & post it on a Facebook page with the time, date & location. Also whether it was reported & who to.

galwaygirl08

Discodog wrote: »

It would be a good idea to keep a log of these incidents as evidence to back up the petition etc.

Maybe ask people to take a photo & post it on a Facebook page with the time, date & location. Also whether it was reported & who to.

Yes it would be great to get pics. They can be posted to Facebook, and that usually generates a lot more discussion on there.
As I stated at the beginning, people need to keep logging the complaints with the council. Send emails, leave messages. It doesn't matter what time or day it is.

fifib

Thanks for the numbers rang both and reported. Gardai said they already had call and would send someone out

Discodog

galwaygirl08 wrote: »

Yes it would be great to get pics. They can be posted to Facebook, and that usually generates a lot more discussion on there.
As I stated at the beginning, people need to keep logging the complaints with the council. Send emails, leave messages. It doesn't matter what time or day it is.

This needs to be centrally recorded by someone. If incident reports get scattered the Council will deny them. There needs to be a "file" for every animal reported that can
be updated - a bit like the.
rescues do with dogs

Then you can build a database of incidents & how the authorities dealt with them.

fifib

Came back from shops and just 1 foal was hanging around entrance to my estate and the poor thing looked terrified. They had obviously gotten seperated from other two and was obviously distressed. Just as i pulled up i saw garda van drive straight by so i rang milstreet again and told them about this one foal and she said the van has been driving around but cannot find them and had to laugh as I told her they just drove past us. Then she said that's because they got called to another incident!! So i told her this foal could easily run out in front of car or knock over a kid if got startled again so she asked me could i not get neighbours together to catch it and put it back in park!! I had to laugh.i said no. I have absolutely no experience handling horses. So she said shed try and get guards back to area

meoklmrk91

Discodog wrote: »

This needs to be centrally recorded by someone. If incident reports get scattered the Council will deny them. There needs to be a "file" for every animal reported that can
be updated - a bit like the.
rescues do with dogs

Then you can build a database of incidents & how the authorities dealt with them.

What about a google doc? Can be accessed by certain people to update and see by all, also it's free and easily accessible.

fifib wrote: »

Came back from shops and just 1 foal was hanging around entrance to my estate and the poor thing looked terrified. They had obviously gotten seperated from other two and was obviously distressed. Just as i pulled up i saw garda van drive straight by so i rang milstreet again and told them about this one foal and she said the van has been driving around but cannot find them and had to laugh as I told her they just drove past us. Then she said that's because they got called to another incident!! So i told her this foal could easily run out in front of car or knock over a kid if got startled again so she asked me could i not get neighbours together to catch it and put it back in park!! I had to laugh.i said no. I have absolutely no experience handling horses. So she said shed try and get guards back to area

Wow, just wow....

galwaygirl08

fifib wrote: »

Came back from shops and just 1 foal was hanging around entrance to my estate and the poor thing looked terrified. They had obviously gotten seperated from other two and was obviously distressed. Just as i pulled up i saw garda van drive straight by so i rang milstreet again and told them about this one foal and she said the van has been driving around but cannot find them and had to laugh as I told her they just drove past us. Then she said that's because they got called to another incident!! So i told her this foal could easily run out in front of car or knock over a kid if got startled again so she asked me could i not get neighbours together to catch it and put it back in park!! I had to laugh.i said no. I have absolutely no experience handling horses. So she said shed try and get guards back to area

This is the exact kind of nonsense I have been dealing with for the past few weeks. Phonecall after Phonecall.

They always claim to send someone out (both the Gardai and the Council) and then they can't find the horse (hello how big are these animals), or else the pound doesn't respond to their call to come seize them.

Having spoken to the community Gardai at length they are unable to seize the horses as they don't have the resources to do so. That is the bottom line. As for trying to hunt down an owner, forget it.

Roquentin

galwaygirl08 wrote: »

This is the exact kind of nonsense I have been dealing with for the past few weeks. Phonecall after Phonecall.

They always claim to send someone out (both the Gardai and the Council) and then they can't find the horse (hello how big are these animals), or else the pound doesn't respond to their call to come seize them.

Having spoken to the community Gardai at length they are unable to seize the horses as they don't have the resources to do so. That is the bottom line. As for trying to hunt down an owner, forget it.

terrible by the gardai. My father reported a horse once. They said they couldnt do anything.

Id love to get ming flanagan in on this. we all know he hates the gardai.

Discodog

Both I & the RSPCA use the following technique. Simply lead the horse away past the houses where you think that the owner lives.

Usually you get a torrent of expletives including where are you going with my feckin horse.

As for the apparent difficulty in finding horses it may simply be that if they find it they have to do something. It's much earlier to say that they didn't see it. I'm

grosser

was up visiting castlepark today, saw some horses in the middle of the small green areas off the roads that run through the estate. And in the middle of the estate a GSPCA van parked outside a house. pretty sure its someone who lives in the area. I wonder does anyone know how the spca's can be called into question for not doing anything about the way animals are being treated, especially when it likely to be happening right in front of one of their workers.

galwaygirl08

Yes i've heard there is a GSPCA van parked in the area outside one of the houses. They are defo not going to take it upon themselves to seize horses as they see them.
As we now know they don't have the money to do so, nor do they have the resources to keep them once seized. I was told by a council member that these people buy in horses as quick as they are taken off them. It only costs them a few euro, whereas seizing them costs a few hundred.

fifib

Guys just after arriving home from town and two of the horses wandering down my street.god knows where other one is now.rang guards again and they said they would contact council. So i rang council too on out of hours emergency number and my call was logged and will be passed on to someone though they could not tell me who the someone was.these horses has been wandering the streets all day clearly with no food or drink just looking for a way back into the green and probably looking for their other sibling. I expressed to both guards and council that's its a disgrace 15hrs later and their still wandering around!

Gremlinertia

Good on you for keeping on at them.. I feel very strongly about this yet I'm impotent as far as any action goes.. I'm going to talk to a few of the people involved in the merlin woods fb page and see is there any advice available from that side..

Gremlinertia

Three foals currently loose on road outside gmit, not the Dublin road.. Be careful.

fifib

Did you ring cards and council? Poor things must be so frightened
is there anyone else we can contact that will actually do something to help them?

Gremlinertia

Nope as I didn't physically see them myself - the friend who put them on fb said she would. I can't think of anyone who can help out. Knowing the way things work if a friendly type were to get them a field they would end up in legal trouble!

Mrs OBumble

galwaygirl08 wrote: »

As we now know they don't have the money to do so, nor do they have the resources to keep them once seized. I was told by a council member that these people buy in horses as quick as they are taken off them. It only costs them a few euro, whereas seizing them costs a few hundred.

And this is the guts of why education is the only way to tackle this long term.

If you're an animal lover, then you'll do more good by sharing the love, than by adversarial behaviour.

grosser

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

And this is the guts of why education is the only way to tackle this long term.

If you're an animal lover, then you'll do more good by sharing the love, than by adversarial behaviour.

how exactly?where is the gap in their education that caused a bunch of kids to think it was okay to beat a foal to death?

Discodog

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

And this is the guts of why education is the only way to tackle this long term.

If you're an animal lover, then you'll do more good by sharing the love, than by adversarial behaviour.

The people that keep these horses think that they are animal lovers. It's part of their "culture" passed on from father to son. Education won't work because they are adamant that they know best.

They also believe that the law doesn't apply to them. They know that they can batter an animal to death without consequence.

The ONLY thing that they understand is when someone stands up to them.

If a horse is removed the owner should be served with a ban on keeping horses. If they break it then they should be jailed.

If they are happy to break the law, with a GSPCA van nearby, it shows that they consider the GSPCA to be no threat.

galwaygirl08

Gremlinertia wrote: »

Nope as I didn't physically see them myself - the friend who put them on fb said she would. I can't think of anyone who can help out. Knowing the way things work if a friendly type were to get them a field they would end up in legal trouble!

It's appalling. Nothing worse than seeing this happen nearly every single day and having absolutely nowhere to turn.

Any photos by any chance? We could get them put up on the new Facebook page.

galwaygirl08

Discodog wrote: »

The people that keep these horses think that they are animal lovers. It's part of their "culture" passed on from father to son. Education won't work because they are adamant that they know best.

They also believe that the law doesn't apply to them. They know that they can batter an animal to death without consequence.

The ONLY thing that they understand is when someone stands up to them.

If a horse is removed the owner should be served with a ban on keeping horses. If they break it then they should be jailed.

If they are happy to break the law, with a GSPCA van nearby, it shows that they consider the GSPCA to be no threat.

Having lived all our lives, and also having worked around those who bring horses in to our housing estates, I can tell you that you are spot on, that it is the mentality exactly.

Roquentin

grosser wrote: »

how exactly?where is the gap in their education that caused a bunch of kids to think it was okay to beat a foal to death?

because when you educate children, you teach them empathy and when you teach them that, they may just think twice about killing animals.

galwaygirl08

Roquentin wrote: »

because when you educate children, you teach them empathy and when you teach them that, they may just think twice about killing animals.

Yes it boils down to education and teaching right from wrong, but sadly we all were not reared in the same manner. Some people live their lives thinking they are above the law, with absolutely no fear. They do as they please and if you dare step in their way then you will sadly deal with the consequences.

Real animal lovers, especially if horses are a huge part of their 'culture', should not inflict cruelty on them as we witness almost every single day in our housing estates.