Animal welfare groups are urging pet lovers to have their animals neutered to cut the 'appallingly high' number of unwanted cats and dogs being put down every year, writes Peter Thompson.

MAHATMA GANDHI was of the view that the moral quality of a civilisation could be gauged by the way it treated its animals. By this standard, civilisation in Ireland would need to take a long hard look at itself. In 2006, the last year for which figures (from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government) are available, more than 14,000 dogs were put down in dog pounds in the Republic, from a total of over 16,000 either abandoned by their owners or surrendered to dog wardens.

This is a situation which outrages animal lovers because it is such a radical contrast with our nearest neighbour; figures for the UK in that year were 7,743, about half of those for the Republic, despite the vastly greater human - and hence pet - population of Britain.

In London, for instance, a city with a population of about eight million people, only 157 dogs were put down in pounds in 2006.

These figures mean that the rate of dog destruction in Ireland is approximately 25 times that of the UK, relative to human population. This is true for Ireland as a whole: the number of dogs put down in Northern Irish pounds in 2006 was 3,069, a figure roughly proportionate to that of the Republic (relative to human population).

As figures for dogs surrendered to pounds show (see table below), there are proportionately fewer strays in the UK, where there exists a culture of spaying or neutering to prevent the problem of the creation of more dogs than society can deal with.

The situation with cats is unknown, as there is no compulsory traceability for either cats or dogs in this country, and no official cat pounds; feline welfare is left entirely to small private charities.

Mark Beazley, chief executive officer of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), says feral cats are "a major problem", in terms of both disease and as a public nuisance.

THERE ARE SIGNS, however, that Ireland is at last waking up to the problem. As the sixth annual Spay Week organised by Veterinary Ireland began yesterday, the government appears to be about to honour its pledge in the last Programme for Government to introduce a new Animal Welfare Bill and, at the same time, to implement the long-delayed recommendations of the Working Group on Dog Breeding Establishments, commonly referred to as "puppy farms".

Spay Week is supported by a number of different animal welfare organisations, including the ISPCA, Veterinary Ireland, the Irish Kennel Club (IKC), Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, the Dogs Trust, local animal welfare charities and county councils, the latter being responsible for dog pounds and the employment of dog wardens under the Control of Dogs Act, 1986.

The purpose of Spay Week is to encourage all dog and cat owners to spay or neuter their animals, unless they are keeping them specifically for breeding purposes, as proper breeders registered as such with the IKC.

Pete Wedderburn, a well-known veterinary surgeon in Bray, Co. Wicklow and a main organiser of the event, says that animal destruction rates in Ireland are "appallingly high", and that research shows that, contrary to widely-held views, "early neutering dramatically reduces an animal's chances of developing common cancers and other diseases".

Stressing this point, Mark Beazley, says that there are many "old wives' tales and superstitions" about the link between neutering and animal welfare. "Many dogs are not neutered because of the beliefs that a neutered dog will become fat and lazy, and that bitches have to have at least one litter to be healthy. There is absolutely no scientific evidence for these ideas whatsoever."

As for feral dogs and cats, both Beazley and Wedderburn reflect a view widespread among animal welfare activists when they call for a policy of "trap, neuter and release". Wedderburn explains that there are disease issues relating to feral cats, which make re-homing impossible for such animals.

A "trap, neuter and release" policy would create "stable communities" of such animals which would then die out naturally, rather than replicating themselves and multiplying the problems they cause. Where is the Government in all of this? According to a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DOAFF), the minister will "shortly" initiate "a process of public consultation on the (new Animal Welfare) Bill, which will give interested parties and other stakeholders an opportunity to make submissions in advance of the completion of the drafting of the Bill".

The spokesperson indicated that this process, which will be announced in the media and on the department's website, is imminent.

THE DEPARTMENT acknowledges that under the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to "the consolidation of responsibility for the welfare of all animals [and not just farm animals] in the DOAFF".

One of the current problems with animal welfare in Ireland is that responsibility for it is distributed among various government departments, with the DOAFF responsible for farm animals, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, for wildlife and dog pounds, and for the regulation of dog breeding establishments, and the Department of Justice and the Garda responsible for prosecuting cases of animal cruelty.

The vexed question of puppy farms may well be dealt with separately. A working group reported to the then minister for the environment, Dick Roche, on the subject in August, 2005, emphasising the urgency of taking action on this unregulated sector, saying that "there is clear evidence that a number of these enterprises are operating in a sub-standard manner with serious consequences for the welfare of dogs".

The group, chaired by a veterinary surgeon and including members drawn from government departments and animal welfare bodies, made extensive recommendations, including a call for State regulation of the sector.

However, despite assurances to Veterinary Ireland by Roche in 2006, nothing has been done to date, although a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government put this down to the need to consider three reports from the working group and "public consultation".

The present Minister, John Gormley, said he would be implementing the working group's proposals before the Dail rises for the summer recess. Wedderburn says Gormley told him that "he [the minister] would be happy to be held accountable if it is not done by the autumn".