Council to probe councillor’s dog ads
A LOCAL authority is investigating one of its own councillors after the Irish Mail on Sunday revealed he was selling pups in breach of animal welfare laws using his listed council phone number.
Tipperary County Council confirmed it has begun an internal investigation into independent councillor Shane Lee under the code of conduct for elected members of local authorities.
Under the code, which is part of the Local Government Act 2001, councillors are prohibited from engaging in conduct that ‘brings the integrity of their office or of local government into disrepute’.
The MoS understands the probe will investigate Cllr Lee’s use of the mobile phone number listed on the council’s website to advertise the sale of the dogs.
The council received complaints from members of the public after our report revealed that Cllr Lee advertised dogs for sale on Facebook in breach of the 2019 Regulations on the Sale and Supply (advertising) of Pet Animals.
The MoS has learned that complaints were also made to the Department of Agriculture and to the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) after it emerged Cllr Lee used his listed council mobile phone to advertise the dogs in a closed group called ‘Bushing and Ratting Terriers Ireland’.
Cllr Lee’s advert failed to display microchip numbers or the age, country of origin or Department of Agriculture Pet Register licence number on the advert as required. Following our recent report, Cllr Lee subsequently gave a pre-recorded interview to his local radio station Tipp FM in which he claimed the pups were not his, and that he had advertised them for someone else.
When it was put to him that his ads breached the 2019 regulations, the politician replied that ‘the dogs were not sold’.
In response to queries from the
MoS, Cllr Lee said that dogs in his care ‘are always cared for to the highest standards’.
Cllr Lee further stated there was ‘no evidence whatsoever that I was operating any commercial breeding activity’.
He stated that on March 30, the Tipperary county veterinary officer and the council dog warden inspected his property, with his ‘full co-operation’. Mr Lee added that ‘all dogs present were micro-chipped’ and licensed.
He added: ‘The Mail on Sunday is wrong – I have not “flouted dog rules”. I intend to continue to care for my dogs and to comply with all national legislation in this regard.’
However, the MoS report at no stage suggested Cllr Lee was engaged in ‘commercial breeding activity’ or that his dogs were not microchipped, just that he had not complied with the 2019 Act.
Cllr Lee is part of Michael Lowry’s political group and is a well-known coursing enthusiast and greyhound owner.
‘I intend to continue to care for my dogs’