Tuesday 20 July 2010

Animal cruelty in Ireland and Smithfield Market

 In a previous post  – the one dealing with the penguin stolen from Dublin Zoo  –  a friend of the blog quoted Kant’s statement that “we can judge the heart of man by his treatment of animals.”  Well, if that is the case, we are in a very bad place indeed. 

Last week, an article appeared on the front of the Herald Metro documenting the fact that “six horses in as many days” had been subjected to acts of cruelty that were “just plain evil”.

One horse had been painted head to hoof in red paint.  Yes, a horse was painted – such things happen in Ireland.  Another one was underweight and had severe leg injuries, while the animal rescue people had to destroy another one that was covered in wounds as a result of being “thrashed”.  A pregnant mare was put down after she had been “ridden to exhaustion” by skangers.  Sorry, youths.   The legs of another two horses had been tied so tightly that the rope had penetrated to the bone, and one of them also had to be destroyed.

Only a few weeks ago, Socialist councillor Ruth Coppinger called for “young people” to be allotted free grazing space for their numerous horses running wild in parts of Dublin.   Just in case any of you are not fully familiar with contemporary life in Ireland, I should inform you that it is “normal” to see horses, in various stages of degeneration, running/hobbling around certain housing estates.

What happens is local kids go into Smithfield Horse Market, buy a couple of  piebalds, take them back to their estates, and let them run wild.  This phenomenon is most prevalent in localities that seem to be permanently blighted by unemployment – even in the boom times.  Coppinger justified her request roughly on the grounds that horse riding is not that much different, recreation-wise, to playing football.  And we have football pitches, right?  The ones that have not been wrecked, anyway.

I disagree.  Far from encouraging people to go out and buy horses they can’t look after, she should be calling for the closure of Smithfield Horse Market – or at least demanding basic regulations on transactions carried out there.  The Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has repeatedly called for the mandatory microchipping and licensing of horses.    I would have thought that this is a reasonable request, but it is one that has been consistently ignored by the authorities. 

There is a responsibility implicit in taking ownership of an animal that goes beyond handing over a few Euro at a dodgy market.

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can we first microchip skangers and make them apply for a spawning license.....

The Picaroony.

The Gombeen Man said...

You know, that might be fairer on the horses anyway ;-)

Dakota said...

Yes GM I fully agree. Smithfield market should have been closed the same day they started to trade live animals, back in the 1970s.

I dont agree, with the vested interests who say the market provides a valuble resource for “the community.” If one animal suffers needlessly then the market should be stopped. AND THEY DO SUFFER.....

There are two main arguments which supporters of this madness use, GM. Firstly they say sure don’t the tourists liiiiike it? No they dont, if they did, how could they? Would any decent tourist support cruelty to animals - even a small percentage of animals on the day? No, I dont think they would!! Its a sad spectacle and I’d say many of the tourists are as bewildered as anyone else. Some of them must be downright shocked.

Secondly supporters say that it brings the activity out into the open, while providing a valuble service to a section of society (buying and selling largely traumatized horses). NO IT DOESN'T the reality is the opposite, this market provides a focus for a sizeabe minority (among the traders) of skangers to ply their dodgy trade. As for bringing it into the open and centralising the trade; well possibly, but the fact as I see it is, this yobbery shouldn't be happening whether its on the streets or on cobblestones of Smithsfields "Plaza." FULL STOP.

If its not closed straight away:

(1) Licence the horses

(2) Widespread law enforcement on the day of the market (can't understand why this has not happened already)

(3) NO SELLING OF ANY ANIMALS IN THE MARKET TO ANYONE UNDER 21

Please see
https://www.dspca.ie/news_item.php?number=183&type=News&archive=Yes

The Gombeen Man said...

I think your link says it all, D. DSPCA inspectors having to wear stab-proof vests.

Der Wanderer said...

Has anybody campaigned for closing the place down?

The Gombeen Man said...

Think the DSPCA has called for it Wanderer - something about it in Dakota's link.

Pike said...

If there is one thing that I learned fairly quickly in Ireland, then it is that people in this country have a very different attitude towards animals, be it horses or dogs or cats or any other pet or "working" animal ! I gave up on trying to tell people about their misbehaviour with animals, not worth the breath really, they don't listen anyway. Look at all the former race horses, which are being neglected or left out on a field (if they're lucky), because the owners are not (any longer) able to pay for their food. This is not the end of the story, more than likely this is going to get worse.

Dakota said...

@Der Wanderer 13:32 the DSPCA are calling for it to close, Dublin City Council seemingly can't close it, some vague clause. There is an online pertition though.

@Pike 17:47 Yes its the most peculiar country in the western hemisphere. I can't understand the attitude towards animals here either.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for publishing this.. That poor horse! I hope as many can be saved as possible.. Microchipping and licensing are both good ideas and easy to follow through, if enough fuss is made..
I've seen kids ride through Knackeragua on horses and thought there's something not right about that, no saddles or any of the stuff you need..

Mary

The Gombeen Man said...

Yes, Mary - the Knackeragua thing is a common sight in many places here, and seems to be on the increase. It seems that any empty field or unfinished building land is now host to herds of neglected piebalds. And a walk up along the quays when that awful market is on is frightening. One other thing - some of these kids on the horses are only about 14. Where do they get the money?

universalradio said...

What a disgrace. I live in Canada, and always thought of Ireland as a place where animals were respected. Clearly, I was wrong. I have relatives there, but I'd rather go to Scotland than Ireland, simply because of this. What on earth is the Catholic Church doing? Nothing apparently, besides collecting money. Disgusting.

Anonymous said...

Little cowards riding undernourished horses with no energy. Where on earth is the Irish government? Where is the Catholic Church? Doing nothing? Collecting money?

universalradio said...

They're more civilized in Scotland, the laws protecting animals!

The Gombeen Man said...

If you judge a society on how it treats animals it's not good, is it?

Lots more on the subject here. Try Googling "Gombeen Nation badger baiting".