Convicted animal home got State funds
The founder of the East Galway Animal Rescue, Sarah Gunter of Kylebrack, Loughrea, pleaded guilty last month to eight charges of ill-treating a variety of dogs.
The sanctuary has been receiving grant aid from the Department of Agriculture since 2003 and, most recently, was awarded funding of €4,000 in 2012. Figures for 2013 and the current year are not currently available.
There are no restrictions on a person operating a voluntary dog pound and no requirement to be registered.
East Galway Animal Rescue primarily deals with bull breeds of dogs, but also deals with other breeds as well as cats.
The dogs that were ill-treated included Staffordshire bull terriers, a Rottweiler, a pitbull terrier, a Dogue de Bordeaux, and a mixed breed.
One of the dogs belonged to Ms Gunter.
She told Loughrea District Court what had occurred was “an error of judgement” on her part.
Ms Gunter insisted that she would never hurt an animal.
The court heard that gardaí were contacted by the Galway Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in July 2013 to go to the sanctuary in Kylebrack, where one dog was running freely and seven others were in a derelict farm building.
The dogs were found to be in an emaciated condition when removed from the property and examined by a vet.
The court heard that Ms Gunter had operated the East Galway Animal Rescue for the past 17 years, and had dealt with more than 3,000 animals. Her whole life revolved around the animals.
Her solicitor said that kennels at the rescue were undergoing repairs at the time and, after the dogs came down with diarrhoea and intestinal problems, she had separated them from the other animals.
The East Galway Animal Rescue was reliant on donations from members of the public and Ms Gunter made no money from operating it. Two random inspections carried out since had not shown any problems.
Vet James Smith said that the dogs were emaciated when he examined them the day after they had been taken from the rescue.
He found no evidence that the animals had been suffering from diarrhoea, as claimed by Ms Gunter.
Judge William Hamill imposed a fine of €250, along with €600 expenses, and said that Ms Gunter’s own dog could be returned to her.
In a statement, Galway SPCA said it would be making “every possible effort within the law” to ensure that none of the remaining animals would be returned to Ms Gunter.
