Councillor wants probe as district tops league of destroyed dogs

Councillor wants probe as district tops league of destroyed dogs

16 September 2020

A CALL has been issued for an investigation into why the Newry, Mourne and Down Council area tops the province’s league table for destroying the most dogs in a year.

New figures revealed by the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) confirm that 53 dogs were put down across the district during the last financial year, with the figure accounting for over a third of the Northern Ireland total.

The government department produces annual statistics to compare the number of dogs humanely destroyed by each council after straying, abandonment or dangerous behaviour.

A total of 152 dogs were euthanised in the province last year, with Ards and North Down Council the only local authority not to destroy any animals.

Councils do not have powers to seize dogs from homes or euthanise legally dangerous animals without a court order, while people whose dog strays and is seized by a council dog warden could receive a warning or fixed penalty fine. 

Last week, Newry, Mourne and Down Council referred a motion tabled by Rowallane councillor Patrick Brown on the number of dogs being destroyed to its Active and Healthy Communities Committee for debate.

Cllr Brown said that while he welcomed the reduction in the number of dogs being destroyed province-wide, there should be “extreme concern” that substantially more dogs were put down in the local council area.

Cllr Brown’s motion appeals for an investigation into why the district’s figures are so high, urging council officials to prepare a report which local politicians can study in detail.

He wants the council to write to the province’s 10 other local authorities asking what measures they took to successfully reduce the number of animals killed.

Cllr Brown said he is particularly keen to ascertain what happened in Derry and Strabane which witnessed an 80 percent reduction in the number of animals destroyed and why Ards and North Down Council destroyed no dogs last year.

He continued: “I am keen for our council to consider ways that it can bring together strategic partners such as the dog warden, local kennels, animal welfare officers, police and animal rescue charities to address the issue, including through tackling the illegal and unethical breeding and sale of dogs, particularly online”

Cllr Brown said there had been a “notable increase” in animal cruelty issues, stolen pets and abandoned dogs over the past few months. He said it was important the council did all it could to tackle the issue.

Ards and North Down Council chairman Trevor Cummings praised staff after confirmation that no dogs in the area were destroyed last year, suggesting it was a reflection of the organisation’s rolling educational programme, responsible dog owners and the promotion of the so-called ‘green dog walkers scheme’.

Referring to the DAERA report, he described the fact that no animals were put down as a “remarkable achievement.”

The council’s environment director, David Lindsay, said that increasingly “these matters are not dealt with by means of destruction orders.”

He continued: “They are more commonly dealt with now by way of control orders, which may mean the dog has to be secured on its own property and that the dog has to be leashed and muzzled at all times when it is not on its own property.

“There are a range of controls now that the courts are very anxious to try and impose sort of the destruction of a dog.”