Updating Ireland’s dog laws: podcast from Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show

In last week’s podcast, we discussed the recently announced review of legislation around the control of dogs in Ireland. To listen, click on the play button below.

Why do the laws affecting dogs need to change?

Ireland’s dog control laws are now over twenty years old, and it is wise to look at them again, and to make tweaks as necessary to improve them.

How is the review taking place?

• The dog control review has been set up by Department of Rural and Community Development which has published a public consultation paper in relation to the control of dogs in Ireland.
• The consultation opened at the start of July and will close for submissions on Friday 6th September.
• You can access the consultation papers here.
• The consultation paper poses 10 specific questions and among other things, it asks whether Ireland should continue to have additional controls in place for specific breeds of dogs.

What improvements need to be made to Ireland’s dog laws?

Listen to the podcast to hear Pete’s views, but in essence, his main points are:

• Basic dog control laws in Ireland are working effectively
• The restrictions on specific breeds should be reviewed, as breed-specific legislation has scanty evidence to justify such rules
• Control orders for named individual should be introduced, as in Scotland and Northern Ireland
• The Irish government should merge the two separate databases that are effectively a duplicate register for microchips and dog licenses
• There is no need for more restrictions on where dogs go, apart from perhaps certain beaches in middle of day in summers, etc
• Enforcement of current laws would make a far bigger difference than inventing unnecessary new laws which in turn may not be enforced.

Questions about pets

As usual, Pete answered a number of questions from listeners about their pets.

• My dog has blood-streaked loose faeces and is having accidents in the house. How can I help him?
• Are there any breeds that should be completely banned in Ireland?

To listen to the podcast, click on the play button below

Pete also did his usual Facebook Live video session: you can watch the video here.