Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine - Simon Coveney: Stop Horse Cruelty in Ireland

Ireland shamefully has an appalling track welfare regarding the welfare of horses. There is a continual stream of cruelty cases and not enough being done. Sadly the recent case of a horse who had to be euthanised following horrible abuse where her legs were broken is only one of many. The heartbreaking picture of her foal standing over her dead body is just part of an ever growing stream of reports highlighting abandonment, torture, starvation and neglect. Neither the legislation nor the implementation of the law around animal welfare goes far enough. Sadly it is a case of 'lack': lack of political will; lack of regulation; lack of resources to enable rescue groups to tackle the horrific cases they come across. Above all there is a lack of understanding i.e. there needs to be more education around equine and animal welfare in general to put an end to Ireland's shameful track record of animal cruelty. The 'creative solution' the Irish authorities have come up with is to round the horses up and euthanise them. Meanwhile the perpetuators of such terrible abuse get off scott free. How hypocritical that Ireland relies on the horse both culturally ( eg horse fairs, horse racing etc) and economically ( Irelands horse racing industry is big money) whilst at the same time shows nothing but contempt regarding the treatment of this magnificent animal. Quite hypocritical too that Ireland's economy is so dependent on animals regarding our sheep and dairy industry, yet Ireland is one of the worst countries in Europe regarding animal welfare in general. Please help put a stop to this cruelty.