Cruelty in Limerick

Sorry that I caused so much upset by my statement. I will try and explain the situation in our city and in Ireland in general. First of all Animal Welfare has very low priority in Ireland. My friend Johanna Wothke from Pro Animale says that Ireland is a Third World country for animals. She has worked all over Europe and Eastern countries and she lists Ireland after Turkey and on a par with Spain.

The Animals Welfare Laws in Ireland are in urgent need of updating. We still labour under the 1911 Victorian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Acts. We have had some Amendments over the years but we still must prosecute under Section 1 of 1911 if my memory serves me correctly. This is the only Statute in Irish Law that has not been updated. The British Government have recently drawn up a new Prevention of Cruelty Act for the British Isles.

The children we meet in the street come from broken families and many are sleeping rough and do not attend any school. Their parents or guardians ( if they have any) are mostly addicted to drink and drugs and many are involved in selling drugs..

There are about five deprived areas in the city and approximately 95% of the parents are unemployed. Most of these areas are not safe and outsiders are not welcome. The local police do not go in there unless there is a serious disturbance. This would involve humans not animals and would have to be a stabbing or shooting incident. They do not involve themselves in petty crime as they say that they do not have sufficient resources or staff.

These children would be cautioned if they were caught but they would be released as there are not enough juvenile detention places in Ireland to accommodate all the young offenders. They usually do not get detained until they get involved in robbery with violence or some similar "serious" offence. All these children wear sweat shirts with hoods up and they are known locally as "hoodies" These hoods shade their faces and make it difficult to identify them even with security cameras. They usually sit of walls and have look outs posted and they are gone into the housing estates or graveyards as soon as the police cars approach. Many of them carry flick knives and these are concealed in their sleeves. They are very fast and you do not realise that you have been stabbed until you see the blood. They all steal to feed their drug habits and the young children are trained as "look-outs" and get money from the older boys. It is a terrible circle of deprivation and crime.

In the last week we have had many awful experiences. To-night, Saturday, Niamh and two courageous volunteers went into Moyross to try and rescue a dying Swan. We have had reports of Swans being shot every evening. Teenagers with guns are using them as targets and shooting them from a bridge known as "the iron bridge". Wild ducks are also targets. We needed proof of this for the police as it is illegal to shoot a Swan and nobody believed us that this was happening. To-night we got our proof. We now have a beautiful dead Swan killed by gun shot pellets. It is a terrible sight and I will not upset you by sending the photos. Our volunteers had to go up the railway line and down to the river bank and swamp land in the dark to retrieve this unfortunate bird. As you all know Swans mate for life the it the saddest thing to see the faithful companion waiting beside the dead partner.

The kids in these areas grow up and live with violence every day of their lives. They see and experience abuse in their families very often. We have been shot at on the streets and observed that the children near by do not even stop playing. They learn to mind their own business and never talk about what they see. The concerned people who live in these areas live in fear and if they say anything their cars and houses may be burned and their windows can be "put in". We have been stoned in broad daylight and our jeep badly damaged and I have been attacked and even urinated on. Many of these kids also live in fear and are drawn into gangs and do not want to participate but are bullied and do not want to be called "chicken".

We hope in the future to try and operate a mobile service that would visit these areas a couple of times a month. We would have a volunteer and Veterinary Nurse and hope to become accepted and well known in the areas. We would hope to treat mange infestation and worm and flea infestation and be given the dogs and cats that are not being cared for. We would also start a neutering programme and try and cut down on the numbers of unwanted animals being born. We also have a huge job to do for the ill-treated horses and this needs huge resources.

To operate a service like this we first need to have our Sanctuary base established to work out of. We have to be able to offer shelter to these unfortunate animals. At present we can only do our best with the limited resources and volunteers available. A long term approach is needed to try and address the problems and raise the Animal Welfare Profile in the city.