When judging animal welfare
domestic pets there are in the country, but surveys suggest that 49pc of households have a dog anD 30pc have a cat, there are 1.7 million private households in the State so I estimate there are between 1.5 and 2 million domestic animals.
The Department of Agriculture Food and Marine (DAFM) have commenced 74 court cases against farmers for animal cruelty under the legislation since 2014. This is low considering there are over 11.2 million farm animals in the country between cattle, sheep and pigs (per the Central Statistics Office in the December 2016 census).
Even though farm and performance animals are subjected to regular inspections by the DAFM officials, private veterinary surgeons, farm advisors/ consultants and all movements from birth to death are traceable on the Animal Identification and Movement Scheme (AIM) the amount of identified cases of cruelty must only represent the tip of the iceberg.
In respect of farm animals, taking calves away early from cows, the shipping of animals over long distances by road and sea, caged hens and indoor pigs/poultry production are all areas under the spotlight. Greyhound breeding, breaking/training of sport/race horses, fox/stag hunting and coursing are all under close scrutiny in the performance animal world.
Legislation was recently enacted to ban the use of wild animals in circuses from 2018 in Ireland. There is no formal inspection process for domestic animals therefore enforcement is minimal, yet they are the most reported category in respect of animal cruelty. The perception appears much worse than the reality — but what is the reality?
Social media is the big elephant in the room when it comes to animal welfare. It can have a positive effect in exposing cruelty, but it can equally be used in a negative manner to portray inaccurate images and messages. Therefore, it is vitally important that we in the farm and performance animal communities secure a social licence from the public for our farm systems and performance animals.
This will require a process of education, marketing, reporting, continual raising of standards and most importantly discussion with those of differing views. At the end of the day we all want healthy, well-cared-for, happy animals, but remember it only takes one case of cruelty to destroy a whole industry.