Sir, – I read with interest Karlin Lillington's article on dog-breeding establishments in Ireland ("Sad realities of our domestic puppy-farming industry" (August 5th) and noted the reported views of Dr Andrew Kelly, chief executive of the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), on flaws in the current legislation relating to the establishments.
Dr Kelly outlines animal welfare problems with this industry, expressing concern at the lack of reliable data on Irish puppy export numbers, and we are told he “would like to see legislation changed so that all breeding dogs are registered and all litters have to be recorded to give a realistic national picture of this controversial trade”. Further on in the piece, we learn that although the Dog Breeding Establishments Act (2010) codified extensive regulations for the set-up and operation of puppy-breeding premises, with significant penalties for breach of those regulations, it is not being fully enforced due to what animal welfare charities perceive to be a lack of interest at local authority level, staff shortages, etc.
If this is so, then on what basis does Dr Kelly believe a revised law that imposes even more responsibility on local authorities and county councils within a vastly expanded remit – every single breeding bitch in the country – would stand any greater chance of success?
Surely the solution here is for those agencies of the State charged with enforcing this legislation to be given adequate funding commensurate with what is already a sizeable task.
Otherwise, the possibility of yet more ambitious law being successfully implemented will inevitably be diminished by the financial strictures local authorities work under and the political reality that most public representatives prioritise the needs of their human constituents when it comes to welfare, housing, and transport.
As a member of Ireland’s hunting community with personal experience of the bitter controversy generated by the Dog Breeding Establishments Act back in the summer of 2010 – and in particular the role of the Green Party as junior coalition partners in cynically stoking up a climate of fear and mistrust between hunters and legislators – I believe that any expansion of the law as it currently stands would be met with resistance from within field sports.
Through an arduous process of protest and negotiation, the Hunting Association of Ireland secured exemptions from the original Act that reflected the reality that as hunt clubs do not breed puppies for commercial sale, they should not be subjected to the Act’s extensive licensing costs.
Any politician tempted to try and have the scope of the Dog Breeding Establishments Act extended in the way Dr Kelly suggests, should be aware that if the Hunting Association of Ireland and the wider field sports community perceived a risk to our hard-won concessions inherent in any proposed amendments, then they would quickly have a fight on their hands. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP DONNELLY,
Director,
Hunting with Hounds
FACE Ireland,
Clane,
Co Kildare.