Legislation should be introduced to control the importation of wild animals, according to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The call came after a woman witnessed her pet dog being killed by two wolves in her front garden at Inch, near Gorey, Co Wexford.
Mr Colm Webb, press officer of the ISPCA in Gorey, said it was strange that one needed a licence to have a dog but did not need a licence to keep wolves.
Mr Webb said: "We do not believe that wolves are suitable animals to be pets, we do not believe they can be domesticated over a short period of time, and we do not think people should have them."
The ISPCA has been campaigning for years for legislation to control the importation of exotic and wild animals. "Because of the lack of national legislation we are calling on county councils to introduce local laws to control these type of animals in the community," Mr Webb said.
The killing of the Pomeranian dog took place in the garden of Mr Patsy Morris and his wife, Kathleen, after the wolves escaped from their pen.
Mrs Morris said her grandchildren had been playing in the same garden the previous day.
"I was frozen to the ground with what I saw," Mrs Morris said. "One of the wolves had the Pom by the neck, the other had it by the back and they were pulling against each other. The dog just did not stand a chance, she had an awful death."
The wolves were put down immediately by a vet after the Morris family called the gardai.
Mr Mick McGuire, the owner of the wolves, said he was sorry about what had happened and the family accepted his apology.