Councillor is determined to protect city horses

By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

The plight of animals, especially stray horses, continues to be of huge concern to Councillor Terry O’Flaherty who vows to continue her campaign to stop what she describes as cruelty.

This week she has condemned the shocking state of horses and young foals left to graze on two sites on the High Road in Ballybane.She said she was appalled to see the “dreadful conditions” of the animals as they were left to basically fend for themselves.

Following this she made some inquires around the area and was able to identify the owner of the sites and she subsequently contacted the GSPCA and the Community Warden to bring this situation to their attention.

When the warden contacted the owner of the sites he said that he was not aware that these animals were on his property, said Cllr O’Flaherty.

“One of the sites in question is very dangerous for animals as it contains a demolished house, there is a lot of concrete and debris left strewn around and it has a very sheer drop at its rear,” she said. 

Cllr O’ Flaherty said that the individuals who abandoned the animals in a derelict site were heartless, and she had witnessed horses left in fields without hay or water and forced to sleep in very wet and mucky conditions.

She said that she put forward a motion at Galway City Council in relation to horses and she also called for the 2009 byelaws to be enforced so that all horses are micro-chipped and the owners obliged to hold a passport for every animal. This would make it easier to identify the owners, she added.

“The Director of Housing has agreed to bring back a report on the horses situation for the next city council meeting in April but meanwhile I will continue to keep an eye on the situation. I care for the welfare of these horses but it’s obvious that their owners don’t,” she concluded.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.