At Letterkenny District Court this month, a man from Newtowncunningham, Co. Donegal was given the benefit of the probation act after contributing €250 to the ISPCA. He had previously admitted offences under section 16[1][a] of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 at the same court on Tuesday 7th November.
This case came to light when a St Bernard puppy was bought for €800 in June 2015.
Shortly afterwards the new owner became concerned as the puppy was showing signs of discomfort. The puppy, named “Nala”, was brought to a local veterinary practitioner who established that a botched attempt to remove her dew claws had resulted in a partial nail growth which was deformed and painful. A surgical procedure was required to prevent future pain and suffering.
The ISPCA were alerted and Senior Inspector Kevin McGinley investigated the matter. The court heard that he initially contacted the person who had bred and sold the puppy. They informed him that the accused was the owner of the stud dog and that he had removed the dew claws of all nine St Bernard puppies in the litter when they were three days old. The breeder said that the removal of the dew claws “was part of the service he provides when he agreed to provide the stud dog”.
The court also heard how a set of curved scissors was used to carry out the procedure in his back yard, that the puppies had not been sedated and that no training had been provided to carry out the procedure.
ISPCA Senior Inspector Kevin McGinley said: “The ISPCA does not tolerate any form of animal cruelty, neglect or ill-treatment of animals and the removal of dew claws purely for cosmetic purposes is not only illegal but this sort of horrific mutilation provides absolutely no benefit to the animal. This is the first successful prosecution in the removal of dew claws under the current legislation and breeders need to be aware that performing this act of cruelty is a criminal offence under the Animal Health and Welfare Act and can have serious consequences”.
Since the introduction of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, the ISPCA has received over 53,000 calls to our National Animal Cruelty Helpline; 11,065 investigations have been initiated; 2,795 animals were seized or surrendered and 92 prosecutions initiated with over 40 prosecutions finalised in court.
The ISPCA would like to encourage members of the public to continue to report animal welfare concerns by contacting the National Animal Cruelty Helpline on 1890 515 515 or report cruelty online on http://www.ispca.ie/cruelty_complaint
If you can make a donation to support our work, please visit http://www.ispca.ie/donate/once_off
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Because austerity and poverty no longer figure in news headlines it is easy to forget that there are still thousands of people who continue to live in hardship and with limited income.
“As members of St Vincent de Paul we strive to understand people’s experience of poverty, whatever the cause from the viewpoint of what we can do to help rather than ponder on how they came to be in a position where they seek help from strangers
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Like for example the mother who after a number of attempts to make that call for help to us finally wrote; Then one day I couldn’t take anymore. The electricity bill came in the door along with the TV license bill, tax for the car and our mortgage was due. And on top of it my son started walking! I know, something that should have been the best moment in my life, but all I could think of was “I can’t buy him shoes”. I was so ashamed of myself. I couldn’t clothe my own child.
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- “She was not alone. She is one of the many, many, people who over the years have sought help from what they saw as their last safety net, the Society of the St. Vincent de Paul.
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Irish society cannot and must not accept that living in, or on the verge of, poverty is normal, whether that manifests itself in going without food, resorting to moneylenders, struggling to pay school and other education costs, rough sleeping, living in emergency accommodation or living in rented accommodation which is cold, damp, dilapidated or overcrowded.
“It is these circumstances that SVP volunteers face all too often and try to offer whatever help they can in a caring and understanding way.
“We depend almost entirely on donations from the public and corporate supporters in order to be able to provide this help. We ask people who want to support our work to please say yes to our Annual Appeal and give locally or online
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