The Department of Agriculture has reimbursed local county councils for the removal of horses to the tune of €6.7m over the past three years.

In total 9,193 horses were seized over the three years, with 3,288 being seized so far this year. 2013 is set to record the highest amount of seizures since 2011 with €1.7m reimbursed to councils to date.

As to be expected the capital comes top of the pile in terms of horse seizures with 2,247 cases in Dublin since 2011.

Speaking recently on the issue Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney: “My department provides funding under the Control of Horses Act, 1996 to assist local authorities with expenses incurred by them in implementing the provisions of the act. The act empowers the local authorities to deal with stray or wandering horses.”

“The amount of funding provided by my department varies between local authorities because of a range of factors, including the number of horses being impounded, the number of horses being reclaimed by owners (which provides a revenue stream for local authorities) and the resources such as pound facilities available to the local authorities to deal with stray/abandoned horses.”

The table below sets out details of amounts paid to Local Authorities in 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013 in their operation of the Control of Horses Act.

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