Council spent €550k seizing stray horses

Local authorities are spending tens of thousands of euro covering the cost of rounding up stray horses, with Limerick City Council paying out €550,000 in the past 18 months.

Figures provided by county and city councils in some of the country’s busiest urban areas have shown an increase in the number of stray animals, with seizure of other stray animals such as dogs adding to the cost.

The figures show a divergence in the costs to local authorities. For example, while it cost Dublin City Council €250,582 last year for pound and seizure services for 342 horses, in Cork City, 123 horses were impounded at a cost of €23,911.