268 incidents involving dogs worrying livestock were reported to local authorities last year, according to a new report.
The Local Authority Control of Dogs Statistics Report 2022 shows that this figure represents an increase of 24% on the previous year.
901 animals were attacked by dogs during 2022, including 755 sheep, 77 cattle and 68 poultry.
Of the 378 animals maimed, killed or put down as a result of dog attacks, there were 336 sheep, 11 cattle and 63 poultry.
Incidents of dogs worrying livestock were reported to the vast majority of local authorities around the country last year.
Cork County Council had the highest number of reports at 64, followed by Mayo County Council on 24 and Donegal County Council with 16.
One local authority in an urban area recorded 54 reports of dog attacks on other dogs, with 6 dogs maimed, killed or put down as a result.
Report
This year, for the first time, the statistics on aggressive behaviour/dog attacks on people reported to local authorities have been compiled.
In 2022, there were 791 incidences of aggressive dog behaviour towards people. 308 people were physically injured, which includes damage to clothes.
There was a 95% increase in the number of stray dogs entering pounds last year, rising from 4,165 in 2021 to 7,352 in 2022.
340 dogs were ‘put to sleep’ in 2022, more than twice as many dogs, compared to 2021.
3,590 dogs that entered pounds last year were rehomed or reclaimed, while just over 3,200 were transferred to dog welfare groups.
Dogs
Over 198,000 individual dog licences were issued in 2022, up from around 192,000 in the previous year.
The report shows that 1,684 on-the-spot fines were issued to owners under the Control of Dogs Act in 2022.
870 fines were paid, there were 106 prosecutions and 25 convictions under the legislation.
In March, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue brought a memo to Cabinet recommending that the fine for owners who fail to control their dogs is doubled to €5,000.
The interim report from an interdepartmental working report on the control of dogs also called on the government to hire 40 new dog wardens across the country.
There are currently 52 full-time and 22 part-time dog wardens employed by local authorities around the country.
Commenting on the report Suzie Carley, executive director at Dogs Trust Ireland said:
“As these figures are from 2022, they do not fully reflect the unwanted dog crisis animal welfare charities are currently facing.
“From January until the end of July 2023, we have dealt with 2,379 cases of people seeking to relinquish their dogs into our care. This is an average of more than 11 requests per day, and a 41% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
“The upsetting reality is that due to the sheer volume of unwanted dogs, there simply isn’t enough space to house the dogs that are being surrendered, and our own services cannot keep up with the demand.
“We, like many other organisations are completely overwhelmed and sadly fear that this is only going to get worse,” she said.