Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Danny Alexander on February 5, 2014 at 12:24pm

It is beyond comprehension, but you know, others treat huiman beings the same way. Take for example children throwing newborns in a trash can or toliet, people looking the other way as a viloent act takes place seemlingly not want to get involved. Icould go on and on and I know many of  the readers will chime in as well. I want to think that there is good in everyone, but I am usually disappointed by many. However, I will not give up on humanity and always do my part, regardless how small it may be, to do what is morally right!

 

Permalink Reply by Ryan O'Rourke on February 5, 2014 at 12:35pm

There is good in everyone, Danny ... at least initially.  Unfortunately, an alarmingly large number of people have, by their own devices, choked that good out of their own lives completely (or almost completely).  We make choices every day, and some people have made so many wicked choices for so long that they have killed what was once good inside them.

It's a scary story, and unfortunately it's a true story as well.

Permalink Reply by Bit Devine on February 26, 2014 at 2:34pm

Sadly, AHAR also responded...to a donkey which had been stuck in a mud hole... The owner scooped it out with a tractor and shovel...with little care given to the puncture wounds

 This was life or death and time was against AHAR. He was stuck in a deep hole of mud for at least two days. They dropped everything when they got the call. The crows had tried to eat him alive, skin and hair torn off his back. You can see by Dannys face, this was serious. He needed to fight hard to live.

Sadly

Sadly, wee Leon, as AHAR christened him, succumbed to his injuries

Permalink Reply by Ryan O'Rourke on February 26, 2014 at 2:47pm

Seeing this makes me want to physically hurt the people who can do this.  I have to restrain myself.  But until the Irish government / law enforcement starts giving a lick about these unfathomably terrible cases, this will continue and likely increase in frequency.  People who are devious enough to allow animals to suffer agonising and painful deaths of starvation and exposure are not fit to live among the rest of us who possess hearts inclined toward the well being of other living beings.

Permalink Reply by Bit Devine on February 26, 2014 at 3:09pm

In working closely with AHAR...even from this great distance... my heart has been shattered time & again...I am trying to juxtapose the Ireland of my youth and young adulthood with this new, more seemingly callous one.

I know that it isn't all Irish that treat their animals harshly. Still, I am taken aback by the indifference that seems to be gaining more of a prevalence.

In the Boom days, it was a sign of your success that horse in your paddock or three in your pasture. Now that the Boom has burst, people are left wondering what to do with these expensive "toys".

That is still no excuse for leaving them to starve and rot. How awful a death, especially in the storms here of late.

Just this past few days, I have been trying to help a friend outside of Dublin. In their walks, they came across a horse, dead in a field next to the race course in Balydoyle. He tried for days to bring it to someone's attention. It is finally removed but only after several Facebook posts and a slew of people email Fingal council people, my contacting AHAR and their contacting of a local Animal Welfare Veternarian. The video posted by my friend, himself a vounteer in small animal rescue, was just heartbreaking.

Permalink Reply by Ryan O'Rourke on February 26, 2014 at 3:14pm

Yes, Bit ... the prevalence of this deplorable nonsense is alarming.  I swear, based on what I see just from the animal welfare charities I follow on Facebook (which is only a fraction of the ones in operation in Ireland), it must be one in ten people in Ireland who are neglecting animals and letting them die horrible deaths.  I kid you not.  That might sound unlikely, but I'm telling you ... it's everywhere.

Permalink Reply by Bit Devine on February 26, 2014 at 3:47pm

I know, Ryan... AHAR is constantly fielding calls...can ya help ... 10 horses abandoned in afield in Westport... 15 horses abandoned in Cavan... in the case of Roscommon, 28 in all...

They do their best to help what they can...and mourn each death as if it was a child of their own creation

My Sweetheart knows that shoudl we ever hit the lotto, my first action will be to expand their center and make it state of the art

 

Heritage PartnerPermalink Reply by ISLE magazine on August 1, 2014 at 4:24am

It is a very dire situation here in Ireland and it breaks my heart as well. There are some regulations here that make it very difficult to make changes. Many horses are turned out into the countryside. It is hard to round them up and when and if they are rounded up unless they are microchipped they cannot be put down (and of course I'm not an advocate of this, however, the situation is so bad that many of them need to be for humane purposes). It costs money to microchip them and the government cannot afford to do that and to top it off there are no facilities in the Republic for disposing of them properly. When and if they are rounded up - people come and take the healthiest animals and then again turn them out into fields again. It is a vicious cycle and very very sad and thankfully there are many people doing the best they can but when humans are struggling to survive here in the recession - animals unfortunately do not come high on the list of priorities. 

Permalink Reply by Ryan O'Rourke on August 1, 2014 at 4:45am

I've volunteered some of my time, talent, and resources to a few of the horse charities in Ireland, and there are some people doing amazing and selfless work to "clean up" the mess so many heartless / selfish people have created.  

Here's the thing: If the government would actually make the penalty for animal abuse / neglect a deterrent, and then if they'd actually enforce those penalties, we'd see a DRAMATIC drop in these cases of disgusting abuse and neglect.  That's all it would take to make a HUGE difference, and that doesn't cost the government / taxpayer anything.

But no, they don't care enough to do even that.  Can't tell you all the examples I've seen / heard of in the past couple years of people doing unimaginably terrible things to animals, and there's never any kind of legitimate punishment for it.  So here's the message: "Abuse an neglect animals to deplorable levels, and you'll not be punished in any real way."  So why should we be surprised when it continues to happen?

It's somewhat akin to littering laws in Ireland (something else I'm passionate about).  While it's a much worse thing to mistreat an animal, I think we're seeing the same things with littering (i.e. the government not caring enough to enforce the laws / fines already on the books).  In this case, there already exist sufficient laws and fines to help correct the problem ... it's just that they're almost never enforced.  So why would people who don't care about their city looking like a trash heap stop littering?  Until the authorities make it hurt, these folks will never stop using public footpaths as their rubbish bins.

Just lazy people running lazy governments, and selfish people running amuck doing as they please because of that.

Permalink Reply by Bit Devine on August 1, 2014 at 11:44am

Littering & Animal dumping... not too far apart... For some an animal is a commodity...and, when it is no longer useful, no thought is given to tossing it aside much as they would a used up pop bottle or any other piece of trash tossed from a car window...

Susan and the rest at AHAR see an upswing in Spring just before foaling time... They've quite a few foals in the barn at the moment

You are correct that stricter laws need to be put in place AND enforced... That is the stickery wicket...Enforcement... Many times, AHAR will find the original owners...who will belligerently ask "What of it?"... Gardai are called, a promised is elicited from the owner that they will NEVER do this again... and with a wink & a nudge... all is forgiven