‘I’ve had shovels swung at me’: Cork animal welfare inspector faces intimidation and assaults

ISPCA inspector Caroline Faherty must worry about owners, especially those with shovels, as much as their pets

Another rescue centred around dogs kept in a pen, some of whom had been left starving. File photo: ISPCA

Caroline Faherty still remembers ducking down to avoid the wrath of a shovel-wielding farmer whose dog she had come to visit during an especially heated welfare check.

The neglected animals in welfare cases are by no means the biggest threat to the Cork-based ISPCA inspector, but rather it's their intimidating owners who pose the real danger.