People should report incidents of abandoned animals, says DSPCA

People should report any incidents of animals being abandoned, a charity for the prevention of animal cruelty has said.

The appeal comes as animal welfare organisations say they are under increasing pressure to house the number of abandoned or surrendered animals.

Gillian Bird, head of education and media at the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), said existing legislation was robust but that wanted to see more people reporting incidents they witnessed.

If possible they should get a car registration number, she told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland.

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People were abandoning unwanted pets for a variety of reasons, but they were doing so in areas that were unsafe for the animals, Ms Bird said. If people were going to abandon animals they should do it in a place where they could be found but really they should not abandon them at all, Ms Bird added.

The reasons for abandoning animals could be seasonal, post-Covid, the increase in the cost of living or a move to new accommodation that did not allow animals, she said.

“If there is an urgent case we will help them,” Ms Bird said, adding the DSPCA, like many similar organisations, was at capacity so it could take a while before they could take in an animal. “We ask the public to be patient.”

Elsewhere, Donkey Sanctuary Ireland has expressed shock at the “neglect and abandonment” of 20 donkeys in Galway amid what they call the “significant challenges” caused by a deepening animal welfare crisis.

The non-profit organisation – which operates in Liscarroll, Co Cork – said one of the donkeys abandoned in Galway had already died while four had to be euthanised on health and welfare grounds. Four pregnant mares and three foals arrived at their sanctuary facilities in March after a rescue operation. The remaining eight have been rehomed following food and medical attention.

Laura Foster, director at Donkey Sanctuary Ireland, has described the Galway case as a “significant” if not “unexpected moment”.

“We have been talking publicly for some time about the unsustainable demand for our welfare services, which now far exceeds our capacity for sanctuary-based care,” she said.

“With over 1,700 equines in our care, we must be able to focus on caring for their needs, as well as doing what we can to prevent and end suffering in the community.”

Ms Foster said prevention and legal deterrents are the only sustainable solution for all animal-welfare agencies.

“We must also tackle the donkey population issue through castration and effective end-of-life decision-making. Too often, we see suffering that could have been prevented or stopped much sooner.”