First All Ireland Animal Welfare Conference.

Animal Welfare ~ Going forward

The main ballroom in Citywest was the venue for the first all Ireland animal welfare conference, hosted by ANVIL Ireland.  The theme of the conference was unity among welfare groups in order to give animals the strongest representation possible.  Over one hundred delegates attended this much anticipated event and were treated to entertaining presentations from a variety of groups from all parts of Ireland as well as from the UK.

Denise Cox, from Irish Animals on the Web chaired the conference, and Miriam Anderson from ANVIL delivered the opening address.  Mike Rendle delivered a presentation on behalf of the Animal Welfare Federation of Northern Ireland which outlined the situation in Northern Ireland regarding animal welfare. 

Maria Clarke from ANVIL presented her research on The State of Animal Welfare in Ireland.  There was a lot of food for thought in her results which showed the enormous amount of work being done, under difficult circumstances by groups around the country. 

Bernadette Doyle spoke about the work of the Blue Cross from their foundation in 1945 to the present.  Bernadette also highlighted the fact that responsible pet ownership is a community issue.  She outlined the role of the Blue Cross in, raising awareness, delivering a much needed public service, and achieving better care and welfare of animals.

Ian Farrar, the campaigns manager for Cats Protection UK, ably addressed the cat problem in Ireland.  Ian delivered a lively and informative view of the work of Cats Protection in the UK and also the problems relating to our feline friends in Ireland.  Speaking about the UK experience, Ian emphasised the importance of groups working together according to agreed standards in order to raise the profile of cats.  With the change in lifestyle in Ireland, and more apartment dwellers, cats are becoming the ‘pets‘ of the future and they should be promoted as such.

The emotive subject of fur farming was tackled by Mary Anne Bartlett of Compassion in World Farming.  As well as facts and figures, a video clip of mink and foxes on such a farm was shown.  Some delegates were visibly upset by this footage and one can only hope our government will follow the lead of other countries, including out nearest neighbours in the UK, and ban this barbaric practice.

Following lunch, Jillian Saunders, Dogs Trust education officer, lifted the mood.  Jillian spoke about the importance of educating the dog owners of the future and took us through the theory and practice of a primary school workshop.  There were really useful tips on how to organise a workshop, how to keep the children engaged, and also how to keep control of a class!

Next up to the podium was Jimmy Cahill, manager of the DSPCA.  Jimmy spoke about the issues surrounding horses and the increase in the number of these animals needing welfare assistance.  Jimmy then introduced a slide show, compiled by the DSPCA showing some of the cruelty cases they have had to deal with.  These harrowing pictures were a timely reminder of the need for groups to unite to help stop the cruelty and protect our animals. 

The DSPCA presentation was rounded off by an interesting talk by Lori on fundraising and there were some very useful tips given.

Dog control was the next issue to be covered and Brendan Hughes of the ISPCA gave a detailed view of the service from an ISPCA perspective.  He also make comparisons between the pound figures for Ireland and those from the UK.  The figures show Ireland has a major problem with unwanted dogs and also that we kill more than twice as many dogs as the entire UK.  Based on the ISPCA data the number of dogs entering their pounds are continuing to increase, indicating that the problem of overproduction is worsening.  Brendan also spoke about his role as an animal welfare inspector and it was really brought it home, the difficult job the frontline welfare people have.

The success story that is Louth County Council dog pound was the subject of the next presentation.  County vet, Garrett Shine, took us through the journey from a 19th century pound with negligible re-homing and income; to a state of the art premises with vastly improved, welfare, enforcement and dogs rehomed.  The dog wardens from Louth were also on hand to answer any queries relating to the service.

Pete Wedderburn rounded up the presentations by looking at the role of VICAS in the problems relating to companion animals in Ireland.  This included a look back at the establishment of the National Stray Dog Forum and the highly successful Spay Week.  While the decrease in destruction rates of pound dogs was acknowledged, it was pointed out that this was due to increased  rehoming and working with rescue groups rather than a decrease in the number of unwanted dogs being produced.  Pete emphasised the need for groups to work together towards achieving better welfare for animals.

The presentations were followed by open floor discussion and the main points raised were in relation to ministerial responsibility for pets, updated animal welfare legislation, neutering and identification of pets, the need for Garda training and the establishment of an association for welfare and rescue groups.  These points will be followed up at the next meeting in November.

The first conference lived up to expectations.  There were speakers and delegates from all over the island of Ireland as well as the UK.  There was agreement on the main issues and also the need for unity.  We believe this is the first step towards a better future for animals in the whole of Ireland

All Photos are courtesy of Petography (www.petography.ie ) and are subject to copyright.