Young "urban cowboys" who ride wild horses face a curb on their activities with the introduction this week by a number of local authorities of by-laws to control wandering horses. The new rules will give effect to the Control of Horses Act, which became law earlier this year with the aim of putting a halt to the gallop of wandering horses and their owners.
The rules require all horses in "control" or urban areas to be licensed at a cost of £25 per horse. Each animal will have to carry a microchip in its ear for identification. No licence will be issued to anyone under 16.
If horses are found wandering illegally, they will be impounded and their owners will be fined. There is also a "three strikes and you're out" rule: a horse found wandering for the third time will be confiscated and sold, or put down.
However, Dublin Corporation is not expecting frequent recourse to the "three strikes" regulation. "The vast majority of horse-owners in the Dublin Corporation area will not be capable of getting a licence", said Mr Cyril Meehan, a senior official. He pointed out that licences would only be granted to owners who had adequate stabling and exercise facilities and adequate feed.
The corporation's regulations come into effect tomorrow and will focus on three specific problems: where horses are a danger to the public; where they are being ill-treated and not fed properly; and where they are a danger to property.
Mr Meehan said that it would take up to two years to resolve the problem. "I don't see people suddenly deciding to get rid of their horses on Monday morning because they have read the by-laws and they see that they don't qualify.
"But, in time, if we show that we are serious about the problem, then they will start to get rid of their horses, and the sale of horses at Smithfield will drop and eventually stop altogether."
Dublin Corporation impounded some 170 horses in the past year, while South Dublin County Council, whose regulations came into effect yesterday, has rounded up about 800. Its wandering-horse problem has grown from 600 two years ago to 2,100 last January. The entire area of both these authorities has been designated a "control" zone for the purposes of the regulations.
Fingal County Council has draft rules under consideration and expects to implement them later this year. Certain areas in Fingal, such as Castleknock/Clonsilla and Baldoyle, have acute problems with wandering horses and 200 have been impounded in the past 12 months. Urban areas will be in Fingal's "control" zone, but rural areas are excluded, as are riding schools, stud farms and farmers.
A number of other local authorities affected by wandering horses are introducing their own regulations. These include Waterford, Cork and Limerick.
