AHAR to close

ElectricChampagne

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The SPCA is an established charity, it's not ahar by a different name. As someone who works for a non profit, I can assure you that not all charities are at it. Financial irregularity is the most damaging accusation that can be made against a charity.
Regulation here leaves a lot to be desired if I am bluntly honest. Yes not all charities are at it, but a good deal seem to be, theres not much trust here. That said we rely on a lot of the charities to do the work the our government doesn't. Which is another story for another day.

It isnt the ISPCA. It is Athlone SPCA a small individually run charity thats not even in Munster, let alone Co Kerry.
Exactly this is not the ISPCA, it is the Athlone SPCA which is a far far smaller charity than the ISPCA and far far smaller than AHAR. They are not the same and not related.
the mind boggles why they are being merged. Especially since AHAR is in Kerry and the Athlone SPCA in Westmeath, a great distance apart.

I assume AHAR will stay the same in the same location, with nothing changing but name.
 

Dobiegirl

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The fact that Athlone SPCA are great supporters of AHAR is the main reason and I would hazard a guess no other charity wanted to get into bed with AHAR which speaks volumes.

Athlone SPCA as far as I can gather is run from someones house and their back garden and deal mostly with cats, they have no employed staff.
 

Leo Walker

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Oh sh*t!
She still has a big tax bill but still 😲 Crazy smh.

Nope. The charity has a huge tax bill, she isn't personally responsible. The charity now no longer exists as they are part of Athlone SPCA. She genuinely has walked away scot free and is free to carry on as before. I'm gob smacked that this has been allowed to happen
 

laura_nash

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I assume AHAR will stay the same in the same location, with nothing changing but name.

Not sure about same location, from the article "The Office of the Revenue Commissioners is expected to secure a lien on AHAR’s assets if the tax liability is unpaid, as seems certain. AHAR’s only significant asset is its premises and 37 acres of land near Castleisland."
 

Cortez

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I have two dogs from AHAR, I've been there several times and met the "manager". She's an odd person, but most people who run rescues are. I don't personally subscribe to a lot of the things they do, but the place is clean, the animals are well tended and there was a vet onsite the day I picked up the last dog. I have no idea how they run the thing, but the level of vitriol launched at this rescue is extreme - I've been to far worse rescues in terms of how the animals are housed, fed and exercised (one of which is reputedly behind a lot of the accusations). Some of the stories circulating are bizarre, malicious and not creditable.
 

Mule

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Nope. The charity has a huge tax bill, she isn't personally responsible. The charity now no longer exists as they are part of Athlone SPCA. She genuinely has walked away scot free and is free to carry on as before. I'm gob smacked that this has been allowed to happen
She must either have a good adviser or she's sharper than she seems.
 

ester

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TBH I can't get past that poor coloured pony, I came across the pic on my fb again the other day.
1553185684924.png

and all the buying of animals.
 

Mule

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I have two dogs from AHAR, I've been there several times and met the "manager". She's an odd person, but most people who run rescues are. I don't personally subscribe to a lot of the things they do, but the place is clean, the animals are well tended and there was a vet onsite the day I picked up the last dog. I have no idea how they run the thing, but the level of vitriol launched at this rescue is extreme - I've been to far worse rescues in terms of how the animals are housed, fed and exercised (one of which is reputedly behind a lot of the accusations). Some of the stories circulating are bizarre, malicious and not creditable.
I have no be personal knowledge of the charity, however it does have 8 welfare orders against it from the department of agriculture. They don't hand them out easily, so it's not a good sign.
 

Cortez

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I have no be personal knowledge of the charity, however it does have 8 welfare orders against it from the department of agriculture. They don't hand them out easily, so it's not a good sign.

None of them apparently pursued (i.e. complied with, so dropped). Look, I'm not "on their side" or anything, but I really don't understand the level of pure hatred and vitriol launched at this place. There are far worse rescues. I don't agree with their philosophy of buying at fairs, and some of the animals would be better off put down IMO (like the pony shown above - which I believe ultimately was euthanized), but the animals I have from them, and some of my friends have goats and dogs from there also, were all properly cared for and the process of adopting was legit. I've never seen a cleaner, neater rescue.
 

Mule

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None of them apparently pursued (i.e. complied with, so dropped). Look, I'm not "on their side" or anything, but I really don't understand the level of pure hatred and vitriol launched at this place. There are far worse rescues. I don't agree with their philosophy of buying at fairs, and some of the animals would be better off put down IMO (like the pony shown above - which I believe ultimately was euthanized), but the animals I have from them, and some of my friends have goats and dogs from there also, were all properly cared for and the process of adopting was legit. I've never seen a cleaner, neater rescue.
Fair enough.
 

Leo Walker

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None of them apparently pursued (i.e. complied with, so dropped). Look, I'm not "on their side" or anything, but I really don't understand the level of pure hatred and vitriol launched at this place. There are far worse rescues. I don't agree with their philosophy of buying at fairs, and some of the animals would be better off put down IMO (like the pony shown above - which I believe ultimately was euthanized), but the animals I have from them, and some of my friends have goats and dogs from there also, were all properly cared for and the process of adopting was legit. I've never seen a cleaner, neater rescue.

Because I know the people who used to work there, because I have seen the pictures of behind the scenes. The public front they put on doesnt match up with what happens around the back.

I thought it had gotten better and hadnt really thought about it for some time. Then this came up and I asked people who know. It hasnt changed very much at all. Someone posted earlier on about the amount of kid goats they currently have vs the staffing levels. It doesnt add up.
 

Cortez

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Because I know the people who used to work there, because I have seen the pictures of behind the scenes. The public front they put on doesnt match up with what happens around the back.

I thought it had gotten better and hadnt really thought about it for some time. Then this came up and I asked people who know. It hasnt changed very much at all. Someone posted earlier on about the amount of kid goats they currently have vs the staffing levels. It doesnt add up.

Like I say, I've no skin in the game, but I went unannounced, I was "round the back" looking at some problem horses (handling/training issues, spur of the moment thing when they found out I was a horsey person), and I've been to (and worked with) quite a few rescues all over Ireland. They are certainly better than a lot as far as housing, cleanliness, feeding and watering. I'm sure there are problems, but not an excuse for the level of pure hatred leveled at the place. There is an agenda at work, I think. Weird, when surely the general idea is to do something for animals that need help?
 

Dobiegirl

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Ive not seen any hatred on fb sights or know of any agenda other than replacing the manager. Cortez you make it sound spick and span but its far from that. The arena where the dogs are housed is sand based with no adequate drainage o r ways of cleaning, its shavings on top of sand which is a petri dish for god knows what germs. No quarantine facilities and all liquids go down into the local stream this will have an impact on the environment Kerry CC have deemed it unsuitable for housing dogs and not fit for purpose, they no longer send dogs there.

Its only just over a year ago someone very reliable and unconnected to us opposing AHAR went in and took some awful photos of equines crammed into a stable, no food or water and there was a young foal in there.

The equines they have for rehoming are still pretty wild and unhandled a year down the line, compare that to My Lovely Horse that does real rescue and rehabilitation. The dogs a lot of which are unsocialised are flooded in an attempt to socialise them, its pitiful to see and she proudly shows off these videos of herself forcing herself on these dogs. The woman doesnt have a clue and there is not the staff or the number of volunteers to adequately look after these dogs or walk them on a regular basis.

Now they have all these kids which will require bottle feeding at least 4 times a day, the place is a shambles, and its all down to the manager who plays on the fluffy bunnies that follow her page.
 

stormox

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As someone who lives only 25 miles from Ahar I do not know a single one of my horsey/doggy friends who hasnt had some run in with her. I have personally seen at several fairs members of the travelling community back up their transit to the Ahar van at a pre arranged time and transfer around 20 dogs. These dogs were then driven to a quiet location in the vicinity of the fair (the private medical centre car park in Milltown for example) photographed and posted on FB at intervals throughout the day with pleas for funds "to buy this soul that needs out" .... totally intentionally misleading the public into donating.
 

Cortez

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absolutely agree with this - intimidation, blackmail, threats - she is a pure nasty character.

Oh, I've no doubt that she's a tough nut - I've met her and there's no way I'd ever have anything to do with her on a regular basis, but I still maintain that there is a lot of hysterical and just plain made up stuff going around that does nothing but add a tinge of vendetta into the mix. Dunno: if AHAR is closed, where do all the animals that need help go? Kerry SPCA is overwhelmed.
 

Mule

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Oh, I've no doubt that she's a tough nut - I've met her and there's no way I'd ever have anything to do with her on a regular basis, but I still maintain that there is a lot of hysterical and just plain made up stuff going around that does nothing but add a tinge of vendetta into the mix. Dunno: if AHAR is closed, where do all the animals that need help go? Kerry SPCA is overwhelmed.
Put them down if necessary. You can't have someone buying animals off the travellers and saying they're rescues. It's a massive waste of resources. If I was an unscrupulous type I'd be breeding animals just to sell to her. It sounds like people already are.
 
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Mule

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Thats the trouble she is fueling BYBs and Puppy Farmers and Im sure they are breeding to supply her, she is also taking dogs off Donedeal which are free or very cheap claiming they are rescue, this so called rescue are rotten to the core.
I know in Finland they dealt with unwanted animals by making them very expensive to buy. You can't get them off random people on the internet either. It's very regulated.
The thing is, on the off chance that we did this in Ireland, every entrepreneur in the country would start breeding them illegally:rolleyes:
 

Dobiegirl

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Im very impressed what they do in Finland, they are far more advanced than us, on a Lancashire Heeler site Im on there are a few LH breeders and they have to do numerous health test too.

Ireland is a real challenge, they have welfare laws but they are not followed up, I cant believe for one moment that Ahar would survive in the UK given everything that has happened.
 

Mule

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Im very impressed what they do in Finland, they are far more advanced than us, on a Lancashire Heeler site Im on there are a few LH breeders and they have to do numerous health test too.

Ireland is a real challenge, they have welfare laws but they are not followed up, I cant believe for one moment that Ahar would survive in the UK given everything that has happened.
I don't know much about UK law, but I do know that the UK is miles ahead of us in Ireland on animal welfare. We are improving but we have a lot further to go.
 

stormox

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Ahar were also encouraging dog stealing in the way they were buying dogs "no questions asked" at fairs from shady people and not informing the authorities if they found a chipped or stolen dog.
There were some instances dogs were returned to grateful owners (with maximum publicity for Ahar )but in the case of a lot of the chipped dogs the chips werent followed up, the dogs were just shipped abroad, rehomed here or might even still be among the animals at Ahar.
 

Mrs. Jingle

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Here is the podcast from radio Kerry of the interview with David Hall the trustee at AHAR.......bear in mind he has been a Trustee of this charity for a VERY short period of time - and even the mad manager/owner would have the sense to clean her act and the place up pretty damn quick when the new trustees were appointed a few months back.

I have also had first hand dealings with AHAR and Gibbons - my opinion and experience is polar opposite to that described by Cortez , I can only assume Cortez was lucky enough to visit on the occasions when Gibbons was doing one of her many PR/Public Relations clean up acts. She has had a good many of these over the years when public opinion is getting too hot to handle.

The new association announced with the extremely small charity in Athlone is perfect for her to continue in exactly the way she has before, considering the manager/owner of SPCA in question has been a very good friend and close associate of hers for several years. I can't see any restraint on Ms. Gibbons, cruel, illegal and bullying activities coming from that quarter for sure. So in a nutshell - Gibbons is in a win win situation - no personal responsibility for the huge tax bill she owes from her scams and illegal activites and freedom to carry on her business as usual. :mad: Only in Ireland
https://www.radiokerry.ie/ahars-winding-following-revenue-audit-march-19th-2019/
 

paddi22

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Cortez, honestly if you go to talk to anyone who works in the factory there they are well aware of her buying walking skeletons of horses and then running a 'code red' to gain funds to 'rescue' them from some imaginary place. It beggars belief she would pass on horses that have been sent to slaughter (probably for a good reason) to vulnerable well meaning folk to 'rescue' them.
 

ElectricChampagne

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Here is the podcast from radio Kerry of the interview with David Hall the trustee at AHAR.......bear in mind he has been a Trustee of this charity for a VERY short period of time - and even the mad manager/owner would have the sense to clean her act and the place up pretty damn quick when the new trustees were appointed a few months back.

I have also had first hand dealings with AHAR and Gibbons - my opinion and experience is polar opposite to that described by Cortez , I can only assume Cortez was lucky enough to visit on the occasions when Gibbons was doing one of her many PR/Public Relations clean up acts. She has had a good many of these over the years when public opinion is getting too hot to handle.

The new association announced with the extremely small charity in Athlone is perfect for her to continue in exactly the way she has before, considering the manager/owner of SPCA in question has been a very good friend and close associate of hers for several years. I can't see any restraint on Ms. Gibbons, cruel, illegal and bullying activities coming from that quarter for sure. So in a nutshell - Gibbons is in a win win situation - no personal responsibility for the huge tax bill she owes from her scams and illegal activites and freedom to carry on her business as usual. :mad: Only in Ireland
https://www.radiokerry.ie/ahars-winding-following-revenue-audit-march-19th-2019/

that absolutely explains it all. I had wondered what the connection was with Athlone. Makes absolute sense. Like I said, nothing to see here, move along. scrape it under the rug and turn a blind eye. Nothing changes

You hit the nail on the head. Only in Ireland.
 

Equi

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Its not the place itself its the management and what they allow and the fundraising etc. If she was removed many years ago and a better person in place im sure AHAR would have been able to continue but there is some reason she won't be booted and noone seems to know what it is.
 

Dobiegirl

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DH, AHAR or Athlone Spca never mentioned that AHAR is now a limited company. "Done & dusted" since October 2018!
It is YOU the public they are keeping in the dark, they will happily and quickly take your cash but will not be upfront and honest about important info. If they can treat YOU like this, how do they treat defenseless, voiceless animals!!

The latest to come from Ahar which they have failed to mention
 

Dobiegirl

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Animal Heaven Animal Rescue
Other registered names: AHAR Ireland .
Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20082383
Crag, Castleisland, Co Kerry, Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
Status: Deregistered
 
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