Charity has spent €250k caring for 25 horses seized from alleged fraudster Catherine O’Brien

The 25 horses seized from alleged fraudster Catherine O’Brien in Wexford in 2019 remain in the care of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust. File picture: the Irish Mail on Sunday Mail

The horse charity caring for 25 horses seized from alleged fraudster Catherine O’Brien more than three years ago is hoping that new legislation going through the Oireachtas will include equine welfare.

The Animal Health and Welfare (Dogs) Bill 2022 is a private members bill brought by Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan. If passed, it would allow dogs which have been seized on welfare grounds to be rehomed faster. The bill is now going through the committee stage.

Since drafting the legislation, Senator Boylan has become aware of situations of horses also being seized on welfare grounds and which also cannot be rehomed until criminal cases are completed – including the horses linked to Ms O’Brien.

Some 25 horses which are currently in the care of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust were seized in Ballygarrett, Co. Wexford, in June 2019. In June 2021, Buttevant native Catherine O’Brien was convicted of animal welfare breaches in her absence in relation to the horses, and has not yet been sentenced. 

She was convicted under Section 12(1) of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Under the act, there are penalties of up to €250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years. Ms O’Brien is now seeking a judicial review of her conviction, with a hearing date set for next July.

Referencing the case in the Seanad, Senator Boylan said: “Following the drafting of the legislation, a number of organisations have indicated they have the same problem with equines. In fact, one animal rescue has spent €250,000 caring for 25 horses seized under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, and the owner of those horses is now seeking a judicial review to further delay the transferral of those animals to loving homes.” 

In June 2021, Buttevant native Catherine O’Brien was convicted of animal welfare breaches in her absence in relation to the horses, and has not yet been sentenced. Picture: the Irish Mail on Sunday

She urged the Minister of State for Agriculture, Pippa Hackett, to support the Bill, but not to stop there. She continued: “I ask her to progress it and to allow us in this House to use time co-operatively to get it passed in this House, before using Government time to get it through the Dáil. 

"She could give a commitment not just to expediting it but also to engaging the legal services in the Department to draft amendments to broaden its scope to include equines and other animals.” 

Chief executive of the Irish Horse Welfare Trust, Sharon Power, said she was delighted that Senator Boylan has brought forward the bill and sought the development of it to cover equine welfare.

She confirmed that the 25 horses seized in Wexford in 2019 remain in the care of the trust. She added: “The costs remain very high, especially heading into another winter.” 

While the Irish Horse Welfare Trust gets some State grant aid, the organisation also relies on donations and fundraising. Grant funding of €136,900 for the organisation was included in a package worth more than €5.8m for 99 animal welfare charities across the country earlier this month.