Dublin horse owners protest over conditions

Horse-owners protesting against the conditions laid down for horse-ownership in the city yesterday held a protest in Dublin. The Dublin Horse-Owners' Association, in a letter handed into the Dail, the Departments of Agriculture and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Dublin Corporation, said the 1996 Control of Horses Act and the related by-laws "do not take into account the poor economic position of unemployed people who spend much of their welfare payments trying to maintain a good standard of care for their horses".

Under the 1996 law, horse-owners in designated areas must have a licence. The conditions in which the horses are kept also must satisfy a veterinary inspector from the relevant local authority.

The small protest, involving about 20 horses and their owners, travelled around the city centre at midday delivering the letters of protest.

The association is calling for the dropping of the £25 licence fee for unemployed people and for local authorities to assign land to be used for keeping horses. Working-class people could then have "the same access to horse-ownership as their middle-class counterparts", the association said in its letter.

Dublin Corporation has rounded up 144 of the estimated 450 horses in its area, a spokeswoman for the corporation said. The corporation has been impounding horses since September, when the new law came into effect.

The spokeswoman would not disclose the precise location of the pound, which is in Co Cork.

The estimated number of horses in the South Dublin Council area is 2,000. That council is using a pound in Saggart, Co Dublin. Fingal County Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown have estimated horse populations in their areas of 200 and 100 respectively.

Notices are put in local Garda stations after horses are impounded. The horses are kept for five days after the notices are put up, and are then disposed of.

It is not known how many horses have been put down since the law came into effect. A number have been given to people who have contacted the local authorities saying they would be able to provide the animals with a satisfactory home.