GALWAY MAY be synonymous with equestrian festivals, but its local authority has “impounded” 67 stray horses this year.
The latest action took place when nine stray horses were taken from public lands at Westside, Headford road and the Ballybane areas of Galway city.
Owners must pay a €500 fee and a €250 fine to reclaim an animal, and are charged an extra €25 for every day the animal is kept in a pound.
However, the city council believes most of the horses will remain unclaimed and may have to be put down.
Galway City Council said it undertook the round-up in response to complaints from the public.
Its staff were supported by community wardens and the Garda.
“We are very happy to have undertaken this operation which takes these horses off public lands,” said acting director for housing and environment Frances Mullarkey.
“This will allow residents and their families to enjoy these green areas as part of their local amenity without the danger of stray horses.”
She adding that “these operations will continue as necessary into the future”.
Last winter a Galway Bay FM radio presenter Valerie Hughes initiated a public campaign to feed abandoned and hungry horses on the city outskirts along the Headford road.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals described it then as a State-wide problem, with some 14,000 distress calls from people unable to feed their own animals or reporting cases of animals in distress.
