Fears for hundreds of dogs as single pound to take all strays
HUNDREDS of dogs are in danger of being put down every year because of a council decision to change pound arrangements, it has been claimed.
From August 1, the number of pounds in Dublin city and county will be reduced to one centralised location, where previously a pound in Dunboyne was also used.
A Dog’s Life, an animal charity which rehomes stray dogs, branded the move by South Dublin County Council a ‘disaster’, and said it will put too much pressure on one facility.
Ashton Dog Pound in Castleknock, Co. Dublin, will now be taking in all stray dogs in Dublin city and county. Rescue volunteer Martina Roche said it will add up to 1,200 extra dogs to the facility. Ms Roche insisted the change won’t save money in the long run.
She said: ‘I think there’s very little foresight that’s gone into it. They [the council] phoned us this morning to confirm it, but there was more than two weeks where they didn’t respond to us at all. Obviously, as we’re the rescue that takes 70 per cent of the dogs that come into their pound, you would think that they would want to have that conversation.’
A Dog’s Life works closely with Blackhall House, which is the pound currently operating in Dunboyne, rehoming 70 per cent of the 1,200 estimated number of stray dogs that are brought in. The Ashton Pound will now have to accommodate that number on top of its current rescues.
‘Basically, there will be 3,000 dogs annually that will be coming through this facility in Ashton,’ said Ms Roche.
‘I know someone at an executive level thinks this is a really good idea for saving money, but at animal welfare level it’s a disaster because there’s an increased risk of disease, there’s an increased volume of dogs that puts pressure on the rescues that are operating out there who’ve already stated that they can’t absorb another 1,200 dogs. It’s a disaster for the dogs really.’
The charity was in contact with another rescue group in Dundalk that also facilitates rescues to the UK and both have said they can’t absorb the numbers.
Spokesman for DSPCA, Gillian Bird, said: ‘From a positive point of view, there is now a single place you phone if you have lost a dog or find a dog and we feel very strongly that there is one central place that people can go to, which should ultimately mean there are a lot more animals reunited.’
Last night, South Dublin County Council told The Journal.ie that, as part of a public procurement process with Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council, it jointly advertised for the provision of a dog pound service in March 2013. Following assessment of the tenders, it said it was satisfied that Ashton Dog Pound was best placed to provide the service. The contract will begin on Thursday.