Tipperary councillors seek more resources for dog wardens amid fears over dangerous dogs

Councillors have appealed to Tipperary County Council management to appoint an animal welfare officer and extra dog warden to tackle dangerous roaming dogs amid fears a person will be seriously injured or killed in an attack.

They called for extra staffing of the Dog Warden Service at the Council’s September meeting where one public representative described seeing pictures of dogs “the size of calves” wearing no muzzles roaming in housing estates while another highlighted how wandering dogs viciously killed a pet cat in Cashel.

The Council’s Director of Environment & Climate Change Services Eamon Lonergan indicated that an extra €2m in Government funding announced for dog control services nationally will enable the Council to recruit an extra dog warden.

And he pointed out that additional powers were on the way that will treble the fines imposed on dog owners who breach dog control regulations while the upcoming ban on owning the XL bully dog breed without an exemption cert will strengthen the wardens’ enforcement powers.

It was Thurles Independent Cllr Jim Ryan who first raised the issue at the Council meeting in Clonmel last week.

He told Council management he was “really concerned” about the high number of dangerous breeds of dogs roaming estates.

“I saw pictures of dogs the size of calves with no muzzles. I think we need to take the pressure off the existing dog wardens by recruiting more,” he said.

Based on what he had seen, he feared a serious incident was going to happen in one of the county’s housing estates unless action is taken in relation to big dangerous breeds of dogs roaming estates where there are young children living.

The Council’s Cathaoirleach Cllr Declan Burgess agreed with Cllr Ryan’s concerns and said the Council should look into appointing an animal welfare officer.

Cashel Independent Cllr Liam Browne echoed his call and told the meeting there was a serious problem with roaming dogs in Cashel.

He highlighted how a pet cat was recently “destroyed” by two dogs wandering around the Waller’s Lot area of the town.

Cllr Browne said he contacted the dog warden about this incident but he was only able to take action in relation to one of the dogs because he required photo or video evidence if he didn’t witness the incident. Only one dog was visible in the video.

He echoed Cllr Ryan’s concern that people are going to be killed or badly injured by dangerous dogs and added that the public needed to know the Gardaí also have powers in this area.

Clonmel Independent Cllr Richie Molloy also supported the call to hire an extra dog warden but highlighted how the county’s only dog pound is located in Nenagh.

Fellow Clonmel Cllr John Fitzgerald said Cllr Ryan’s call was timely but he believed an extra dog warden was a “flimsy solution” to this big public health issue of attacks on children and others by vicious dogs around the country. It required a proper planned response.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Cllr David Dunne from Carrick-on-Suir highlighted how he encountered a massive Rottweiler at a council house that ran out as he approached the house and hit the gate with such force that he panicked and ran back to his car.

And the problem wasn’t just with vicious dogs, he continued. There were people with two and three dogs at their homes barking all night even though they weren’t meant to have that many dogs.

However, while he believed the Council should deal with tenants who were breaching regulations in relation to dogs, he didn’t believe the onus should be on the Council to tackle dog and horse control problems. They should be “under the roof” of one authority and that was the Department of Agriculture.

In response, Mr Lonergan said the Council shared councillors’ concerns about dangerous roaming dogs and assured them that the Council was putting its dog wardens’ focus on this public health and safety issues.

The difficulty wardens faced was that they couldn’t go into private property.

He reminded councillors that last year the Minister for Rural & Community Development set up the Working Group on Control of Dogs in the wake of serious sheep kills by dogs.

In May, an additional €2m funding was announced for local authorities’ dog warden services that will bring an additional dog warden for county Tipperary.

The Council currently has two dog wardens and a dog pound in Nenagh.

The Government has also trebled the fines for dog control regulation breaches while a ban on the breeding of XL Bully dogs in Ireland will come into force on October 1.

Mr Lonergan said there are 21 licenced XL Bully dogs in county Tipperary and from February 1 next year it will be illegal to own one of these dogs without an exemption certificate.

He pointed out that this new law will make enforcement easier for the Council’s dog wardens.

Mr Lonergan added there was a new awareness campaign on the way though he wasn’t sure how beneficial it will be in changing the behaviour of bad dog owners who ignore the law.

However, he believed the increased fines and ban on dangerous breeds will have an impact.