The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has launched its 2024 “No Dogs Allowed” campaign as it says the government and local authorities “fail” to address the issue of dog attacks on livestock.
Launching this year’s campaign, IFA president Francie Gorman said the government and local authorities continue to “ignore the deepening” issue of dog attacks.
IFA national sheep chair, Adrian Gallagher said it is a “critical time” as lambing commences, and warned dog owners that dogs are not allowed on or near farmland, and to behave in a responsible way.
The IFA chair also reminded dog owners that they are fully liable for any damages caused to farmers and their livestock, and that dogs found on their lands can be shot.
“The lack of robust enforcement of the legal obligations on dog owners has allowed these attacks to persist and increase across the country and it is unacceptable.
“Farmers have had enough and it’s time for decisive action to protect our livestock,” Gorman said and added that the IFA first launched its ‘No Dogs Allowed’ campaign in 2021.
The IFA is demanding stronger regulations and stricter enforcement for those who disregard the safety and wellbeing of Irish livestock, the association’s president said.
‘No Dogs Allowed’ campaign
While the announcement of stronger regulations by government last year was a “step in the right direction”, Gallagher said it “does not go far enough” to protect livestock from dog attacks.
He said it is “critical” that all dogs in the country are microchipped, registered to the owner and licensed in order to establish a national database for all dogs and the persons responsible for them.
“Implementing stronger legislation and sanctions reflective of the damage and trauma these dogs cause on farms has been key to our campaign,” the IFA national sheep chair said.
“Stronger regulations and increased sanctions must be implemented to ensure that dog owners understand their responsibilities and the consequences of failing to fulfil them,” he added.
The association specified what needs to be acted on by government in this area, including:
- A single national database for all dogs, correlating licensing and microchipping and identifying the person responsible for the dog;
- But at a minimum, alignment of the existing licensing and microchipping records to one central access point;
- Full enforcement of microchipping and licensing obligations of dog owners for all dogs;
- Stronger powers of enforcement for dog wardens and Gardaí and clarity on these powers;
- Increased on-the-spot fines for failing to comply with the microchipping and licensing requirements;
- Increased sanctions and on-the-spot fines for failing to have the dog under control;
- Significant on-the-spot fines for dogs found worrying livestock;
- Legal requirement for dogs to be microchipped and licensed and identified on the NVPS (National Veterinary Prescribing System) prior to any veterinary treatment or prescribing of medicines by veterinary practitioners;
- Authority to apply the legislative obligations to dogs in border regions owned by persons not resident in the state.
The IFA recently announced that it will participate in a new dog control stakeholder group aimed at addressing dog control issues in the coming weeks.