A huntsman and dog-owner was yesterday fined £100 for cruelty to 17 foxhounds in what an animal welfare inspector described as "a most appalling case".
Christopher O'Sullivan (40) from Shamrock Place, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to cruelty to two dogs but denied he had been cruel to the rest.
Animal welfare inspector Mr Ted O'Connor of the CSPCA said he found two dogs in a shed and wire compound in a field near O'Sullivan's home on May 1st last. One was heavy in pups and they were so bad it was difficult to recognise them as foxhounds.
"The two dogs were in the most emaciated condition. One could clearly seek the skeletal frame of the dogs through their flesh . . . the dogs were tearing and scratching. "The floor of the compound was covered with several inches of faeces, rubbish and old bones and they had no food or water," Mr O'Connor told a special sitting of Carrigaline District Court.
Mr O'Connor said he found another 10 hounds in another wire compound attached to a ruined shed. These dogs were also tearing and scratching their bodies.
"The whole floor area was covered with several inches of faeces, rubbish and old bones. The smell . . . was overpowering. The dogs had no food and the only drink was a half-bucket of dirty green water."
He found another hound in a small car trailer lying in a week's faeces. There was no sign of food or water in the trailer, he said.
"It was obvious these animals were suffering over a long period of time, left without food or water and kept in dirty compounds."
He also found four hounds loose on a roadway. They looked reasonably healthy and this was probably because they weren't confined to compounds and were able to scavenge for food.
Garda Declan O'Connor said when he visited the compounds, he found the first two dogs in a wretched condition. "I have never seen a dog alive in such a condition." O'Sullivan explained that he was secretary, huntsman and kennelman of the Shamrock Harrier Club. He had been involved in the club since he was 10 years old. He had taken in a number of dogs when some elderly members of the club retired or died. He had three dogs himself, but admitted he had overstocked.
The first two dogs had been missing for over six weeks and were dropping from hunger when he found them. He was unable to attend to them properly for a few days because of some shift work he had got with Irish Steel. The other dogs had a hard season and needed the summer to recover. The dogs were kept in the shed only on three days a week when he fed them meat. He allowed them out into a field for the rest of the week, O'Sullivan claimed. He had given away most of the dogs to two other local harrier clubs and now kept only three himself.
Solicitor Mr Eugene Murphy said his client "had been striving manfully to keep an ageing club together". He was a dog-lover for over 30 years and regretted very much what had happened.
Judge Joseph Mangan fined O'Sullivan £100 and ordered him to pay £80 expenses.