Cork City Council spent €93k seizing horses last year

A total of 33 horses which were roaming loose in the city were seized in 2024

Of the 33 horses seized while roaming loose in Cork City, 13 were returned to their owners while 20 were re-homed. File picture: Diane Cusack

More than €93,000 was spent on the seizure of loose horses in Cork City last year amid concerns about animal welfare issues and public safety threats.

A total of 33 horses which were roaming loose in the city were seized. Some 13 of these were returned to their owners while 20 were re-homed.

Details obtained by the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information Act show that Cork City Council spent €93,067.23 on the seizure, stabling, and care of these horses prior to their rehoming or return to their owners. No horses had to be euthanised during this time.

Meanwhile, a total of 87 complaints relating to loose and malnourished horses were received between January and September of last year.

Kelly Mellerick, who runs the charity My Lovely Horse, said the term rehoming is used too loosely in the context of council seizures.

“Rehomed means they went out to rescues,” she said. “That’s not rehoming. It just means the burden was placed on the rescues.

“It always amazes me when the term is used in this way. At times, the pound very much has the begging bowl out for rescues to step in and help as euthanasia is the only way forward after that if horses are unclaimed.

“Horses can come in to us from pounds and spend six, seven-plus years and still not get a proper home out of it.

“It’s a huge cost on the rescues. They are just passing the parcel.” 

She is calling for improvements to traceability in the equine industry.

“It all boils down to the legislations that are in place and equine traceability,” she said. “With horses there are microchips being inserted but more often than not the ownership isn’t being changed. Organisations like the council will go out and scan. They’ll see a microchip but no record of any owner.

“If equine traceability within the system was improved, the buck would stop with the person who registered that horse.”

Ms Mellerick said the figures released by Cork City Council are modest when compared to the number of stray horses her rescue is seeing.

“The number should be way higher,” she said.

Every week we are receiving multiple reports of horses out on roads or on land they shouldn’t be on but the council are just not acting. 

"Gardaí are equally responsible for the roads and traffic but they are turning a blind eye. The reason everyone wants to turn a blind eye is the cost. A pound seizure of a horse could cost the council or gardaí approximately €800.”

Deirdre O’Dwyer said her son Evan, who is autistic and non-verbal, narrowly escaped death after a horse broke through the back window of their car.

A decade on from the traumatic event, the mother of two, who lives on the northside of Cork City, said she is shocked that straying horses are still a problem.

“My husband Al was taking Evan for a spin in the car that night. When they returned their faces were ashen. 

I thought that Al was joking when he said that a horse had gone through the car until I saw the shattered glass and hair from the horse’s mane still in the car.

“We had to pay for the damage to the car ourselves.

“Nobody was held to account for what happened. Some things never change. You have to have sympathy for these horses. It’s sad and it is not their fault. However, if you’re going to own an animal, you have care for them like you would any other animal. 

"It’s the same thing as taking a dog and not feeding it. €93k shouldn’t have to be paid to seize horses.”