Stray and abandoned horses create headache for councils

Local authorities are battling to deal with hundreds of stray and abandoned horses on their lands, with one council putting down 250 animals last year.

With numerous investigations continuing into the horsemeat scandal and how equine DNA entered the meat supply chain, Dublin City Council has revealed that last year it seized 254 horses, with all but four being put down.

The cost of the Horse Seizure and Pound Service last year — recouped by the local authority from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine — was €182,997.

The majority of the horses seized in the capital in 2012 came from three distinct areas: Cherry Orchard, where 89 animals were seized; Darndale/Coolock, where 70 horses were seized; and Ballyfermot, where 38 horses were recovered.

The number of stray horses seized in other local authority areas was even larger. South Dublin County Council said it seized 380 horses in 2012, with another 87 animals seized in the first three months of this year.

Limerick City Council seized 215 horses last year and Limerick County Council seized another 123 horses in the same period, while Galway City Council said it impounded 50 horses. The cost of recovery in Limerick city and county in 2012 was almost €500,000.

The fact that the councils recoup the money for seizures and associated costs from the department means a large bill at a time when it is establishing a centralised database of horses in light of the horse meat controversy.

Cork City Council failed to provide figures, but the problem in the city has reached crisis point, according to the head of CSPCA.