Cork County Council veterinary officers are calling for dog insurance to be made compulsory due to the worrying rise in dog attacks on humans and livestock.
Gardaí are currently investigating two separate incidents in Kildare and Offaly in which up to 70 sheep were killed by dogs in recent days.
Fianna Fáil TD Bernard Moynihan is pessimistic about the impact a law requiring insurance would have when many dog owners don’t even have a basic license.
He told Newstalk Breakfast that he “can’t see it happening, to be honest”.
“I can’t see how it would be regulated”, he said.
In his constituency of North Cork there has been a “serious problem” with dog attacks, with a lot of constituents having raised the issue.
“I think there has to be very very serious enforcement here”, he said.
“Some dogs are so dangerous they should not be in the country. They should be banned, in my view.”
It’s not only sheep that dogs are attacking, but sometimes people too.
“We’re talking about human life here”, he said.
“This could happen to a toddler or an infant or some children out playing.”
‘Completely unregulated’
“It was very upsetting to see the damage that was done to those sheep”, Mr Moynihan said.
“At the moment it seems to be a completely unregulated environment.”
He said that he understands the Department of Agriculture is currently looking into what can be done about the “non-existent” regulation.
Mr Moynihan is calling for “very serious sanctions” for owners of dogs that cause harm.
“It’s going to be very difficult to identify who the owner of the dog is”, he said.
There should be a similar system to that of TV license inspection, he says, but with inspectors having “very serious powers” that allow them to “do something instantaneously that will take that dog off the streets”.
Listen back to the full conversation here.
Main image shows a collie sheep dog. Picture by: Nigel Cattlin / Alamy
