Who are Animal Inspectors in Ireland?

muddypaws

I've always been a bit confused, I realise that the ISPCA have inspectors, but I have only just come to the realisation that some local SPCAs also do, who gives them powers? Are they council appointed?

Our local SPCA is run by volunteers, and is a charity, would they be able to inspect properties to judge if its fit for animals to be there?

DBB

muddypaws wrote: »

I've always been a bit confused, I realise that the ISPCA have inspectors, but I have only just come to the realisation that some local SPCAs also do, who gives them powers? Are they council appointed?

Our local SPCA is run by volunteers, and is a charity, would they be able to inspect properties to judge if its fit for animals to be there?

There is a small number of authorised ISPCA inspectors in Ireland... is it 5, or 7?
The local SPCAs have inspectors, but they are voluntary, appointed by the local SPCA themselves.
Up until now, none of them had powers as such, they all relied on Garda assistance when they had to seize animals or exercise search warrants.

The new Welfare Act will ultimately confer considerably more powers on the official ISPCA Inspectors, allowing them to operate in many instances without the need for Gardai to be there.
These powers, as it stands (and as I understand it) are not being conferred on the voluntary inspectors, it has been quite the bone of contention.
That said, there is provision for various other people to be appointed as authorised officers (I think this will include dog wardens, and other council staff), so perhaps in future, and with enough agitation, such powers will be conferred to the voluntary inspectors, or who knows? Maybe a slightly watered-down version of them?

muddypaws

So the local SPCA inspectors probably have no specialised training? Do the ISPCA inspectors? Do the Gardai automatically attend when the local volunteer inspectors contact them I wonder? Would they do the same with a concerned member of the public? Until the last few days, I honestly didn't realise local SPCAs had people with the title of Inspector, and am finding it all very strange.

DBB

muddypaws wrote: »

So the local SPCA inspectors probably have no specialised training? Do the ISPCA inspectors? Do the Gardai automatically attend when the local volunteer inspectors contact them I wonder? Would they do the same with a concerned member of the public? Until the last few days, I honestly didn't realise local SPCAs had people with the title of Inspector, and am finding it all very strange.

Okay, I'll try to answer your questions, based on what I know from my own experience, which doesn't necessarily mean it's the same case in every local SPCA!

Training: All of the full-time, uniformed inspectors would have done a very intensive training course with the RSPCA in the UK prior to being let loose on the streets. If I remember correctly, that course is 5 or 6 months long on a full-time basis, and they cover a huge range of topics. Indeed, I'd imagine the course is more salient now to Irish inspectors as the UK inspectors have had greater powers for some years now. But in any case, the syllabus is pretty impressive.
I'm pretty sure that other courses pop up from time to time that the full-time inspectors attend (I suppose for CPD?), but the voluntary inspectors can and do go on some shorter courses too... presumably as and when funding allows.

Garda Attendance: you can be absolutely sure that a good voluntary (and indeed full-time) inspector will have fostered good contacts and relationships with their local Guards, and rely strongly upon this when they call the Garda station in times of need.
In which case, you can also be reasonably sure that the Guards will attend an incident when called out to it by a voluntary inspector quicker than they would a member of the public! It's not fair to say that this would be the case across the board, but generally, it's probably a reasonably accurate assumption.

For what it's worth, I had until a few years ago also assumed that anyone calling themselves an "Inspector" with any SPCA was full-time, permanent and pensionable. I was really surprised when I found out the story! That said, there are some bloody good voluntary inspectors out there