Do you have concerns - rescue dogs from the Irish Republic

The problems in the RoI (overbreeding, puppy farming etc) will NEVER be addressed as long as people think they always have an 'out' in the form of loving homes waiting in the UK.

The RoI is NOT a third world country, there is hot running water, McDonalds and internet :p dogs are not at any more risk of cruelty or neglect than they are in the UK.

The Dangerous Dogs act is more strict in terms of the breeds it covers (IE GSDs, Rotts, Dobes are at risk of PTS for ending up in a council pound).
 
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Totally agree. They will dump their surplus onto the UK as long as people can make a profit from the trade.
It is about time the existing regulations were applied.
 
I found your blog post really interesting I knew some of the rescues imported from ROI but some I had no idea about or the realities of how there imported.

Do you think if the dogs were imported safely and legally it's still ethically dubious or does it mean more dogs get good homes or at least good deaths or do you think it still taking a wide view doesn't really help dogs?

Equally I've never been sure about rescues that cherry pick arguable more rehomable dogs vs those that appear to take there fair share of staffies other common but less easily homables.
 
Seeing it from the Irish side I hope it wont end but thats from a purely selfish point of view :P I dont want to put down the dogs we currently vaccinate and neuter for rescues. Most are lovely creatures who just happened to have been unlucky enough to have crappy owners in the past.

IMO the main issue's are;

1: that the Republic of Ireland produces far to many dogs every year. Between backyard breeding,which is rampant! and the famous puppy farming issue we have many many dogs born here.

2:not enough people spay and neuter their pets,leading to the problem of accidental litters and backyard breeding.
Thankfully neutering has become more prevalent in the last 10 years. I hazard a guess the dog's Trust vouchers have had quite a significant impact in raising awareness Unfortunately approved practices have 25 vouchers a year at the moment so its been scaled down massively and an awful lot of people will wait and not neuter rather than pay full price if the vouchers are gone. This notion of entitlement and choosing to wait and add to the cycle of pups is also highly frustration considering you can get a male dog neutered for as little as 50 euro and a female done for 100 euro locally. All the more frustrating when people give out about that price then pull out an Iphone etc to tell their friend that no cannot be done for cheap so wont happen....stops and trys to stops ranting..

3:and perhaps the point most rescues feel very acutely.. very few people over here rehome dogs from rescues as opposed to getting a pup.
For example I do not know anyone in my local area who has rehomed a dog. Working in practice yes I have met plenty of rescues but in my rural home area...nada. People get pups either pedigrees,generally from donedeal, or a pup from a neighbours "accidental" and often yearly litter. People who can get a pup for free/ 50 euro are not going to jump through the hoops that many of the rescues demand for an "older" dog...("older: as most of the dogs in rescue with me are young heathy dogs of all shapes breeds and sizes). Is it right no...is it true IMO yes.The worse thing is we have some very good rescues locally who are not at all strict in their rehoming criteria but still it is just not a common thing.

In my time as a student and working in practice I have met dozens of dogs brought in by the various local rescues.. 2 breed rescues, one local area one. There are a lot of very very hardworking rescues working on clearing up the mess left by others selfishness and bad ownership in Ireland. Not all of them are registered( hardly surprising given the bureaucracy and paperwork involved in trying to register as a charity) and yes some of them are taking on to much but I cannot honestly call any of our local rescues in it for the money!The fees that they rack up on veterinary treatment alone far outstrips the meager grants they currently get and they are constantly in arrears on the books....vet fees are a hugh portion of the costs i know and they are already on reduced rates in most practices. Food kenneling etc is more on top of that.

They do however do a fantastic job that no-one else takes on.The governments only input is to seize and if unclaimed after 5 days destroy stray dogs. The rescues are the one's who make a difference. Ive meet litters of lurcher pups who were abandoned to the vets when they got parvo that were treated by the rescue.(some of you might remember my pic of Arthur the lurcher pup I posted on here before), straying dogs hit by cars with broken but easily fixed limbs taken onto their books and recovered, abused and starved dogs taken into their care, numerous litters of abandoned pups(3 litters of under 8 week pups were reported to them as abandoned and are up on the site in the last week)

These dogs are all advertised as available for adoption here initially. They have newspaper pieces every week in the local papers with different dogs available and some information on basic pet issues like neutering vaccines etc, they have facebook groups with the dogs pictures and stories and charity collections frequently locally.....but in reality most of those dogs will have went to the UK to be rehomed. They chose the youngest most adoptable dogs to go because at least in england they have a chance to find homes rather than living a life in kennels as their foster system is already full to bursting ....Plus theres also the fact that here rescues have to be pragmatic due to finances and young healthy or fixable non permanent issues is generally the type of dog they take in.

Older dogs or very critically ill dogs dont get pulled out of pounds near me or get taken on for lifesaving treatments under the rescues, they cannot afford it and once recovered they would just get kenneled for the rest of their lives as they are not rehomable at home or abroad. If they are strays they are kept comfortable as owners are looked for and if no one comes we put them down instead :( If they are pound dogs they do their days and meet the same fate. Dogs who bite or show serious behavioral problems also get PTS. There are to many rehomable dogs out there struggling to be places to take on the difficult cases.

The awareness that dogs can be rehomed is slowly growing thankfully but it is nowhere near meeting up with the levels of healthy young dogs with few issues available for adoption.

I just dont believe that people are making a hugh profit on this industry...having seen the inner workings in a few rescues...one of whom I know sends to Many Tears occasionally I just cannot see where they are hiding all this spare cash. The people I know involved in rescue commit a hugh amount of time and effort and are in it purely for the dogs and just want to offer them a chance.
 
I can say quite honestly that I am ashamed about how small domestic animals are treated in Ireland. I am Irish. I think that the situation has improved from when I was a child but not a lot. Drowning unwanted dogs pups kittens and cats is still common. I heard one story of a man who took his dog to the sea, tied a stone around it's neck and left it to drown. The dog somehow got free and came home. Man took it back and made sure he tied a better knot and drowned the dog.
At least now there are charities trying to make people more aware but they have a very big job on their hands.
 
Aru, thank you for taking the time to write a response from a different perspective. Believe me I did not find it easy writing the Blog because I did not wish anyone to think I was anti rescue or not in agreement with dogs and puppies sent from Ireland to the UK. All I was trying to highlight was the method of transport used by some rescues, the condition of some dogs when sent and the fact that it is an economic activity due to fequency and volume of dogs, puppies and cats. For this reason they should be compliant in Balai Directive and The Animal Transport Order both a legal requirement which is being ignored and do not think that is acceptable. If rescues wish to continue to send and receive dogs then please do so sensibly and legally not the way it is carried out by some at the moment.
 
I am not heartless but I do find it odd bringing dogs in from abroad including Ireland when we are inundated here with rescue dogs who are being pts daily for lack of homes.

The people involved in Romanian rescue told me the reason they had a market over here because our rescues were full of Staffys, so they are using the same argument for the Irish dogs.

Unfortunately there is money to be made and some of those rescues Ive had a problem with for a long time and would question their motives. Any rescue that cherry picks and only takes in the cute and cuddley is questionable.

The transport links need to be tightened up and licenced properly, sick dogs and puppies are abhorrant, welfare should be their driving force but they are in it for the money and welfare dosnt come into it sadly.
 
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