Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has been urged to “fast track” stronger laws around dog control after a “dog attack on cattle”, one farm organisation has claimed.
The livestock chair of the Kildare Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Paul McDonald claimed that there have recently been “devastating attacks on cattle in the north Kildare area”.
McDonald said the “devastation” caused by uncontrolled dogs across the country is “not acceptable”, and the “delay” by the minister to act on the issue is “not good enough”.
“In the past number of days, a yearling bullock belonging to a north Kildare farmer had to be put down by vets due to horrific injuries caused by a dog attack.
“Another bullock had to be put down a month ago having also been targeted by a dog,” the Kildare IFA livestock chair said.
Dog attacks
Minister McConalogue “continues to fail” in implementing stricter laws, McDonald, who stressed that the “longer farmers have to wait, the more common these sorts of attacks will become”, said.
Calling for more to be done immediately to ensure farmers around the country stop “bearing the costs of such devastating attacks“, he added:
“The effects of such an attack on a farm are widespread, the farmer cannot sleep at night without fear of loosing another animal.”
“Stronger regulations” which were brought before Cabinet in recent months are a “step in the right direction”, the association said.
However, more needs to be done to “not just prevent dog attacks on livestock but bring forward serious consequences for the owners of dogs found attacking livestock”, the IFA said.
The association said it is again appealing to all dog owners to be extra vigilant of their dogs and their whereabouts at all times, especially at this time of the year when livestock are now out grazing.