Better late than never?
The news that Belfast City Council applied for and was granted destruction orders in respect of two pitbull type terriers originally seized in a USPCA/PSNI animal cruelty investigation in May ’06 raises far reaching concerns for the Charity.
The same dogs that caused a furore on 1 May 2007 when Belfast City Council enlisted PSNI assistance to stop a USPCA vehicle and illegally seize the animals.
A decision in Feb ’07 not to prosecute on grounds of cruelty left the Society in possession of two illegal animals whose owner was demanding their immediate return to his Belfast address. We contacted the senior dog warden of Belfast City Council on more than one occasion regarding a problem that was about to land on his doorstep. He chose to ignore it. The problem was formalised in writing and this time an attempt was made to pass the buck to Coleraine Borough Council (the dogs were actually held in Ballymoney Council area).
The clock was still ticking; the Charity’s costs were mounting, the owner’s patience wearing thin and our best efforts at finding a solution falling on deaf ears. A decision was taken by the Charity to ensure Belfast City Council would confront its responsibility and the dogs were returned to within its jurisdiction. They abandoned the obvious commonsense solution requiring a phone call and opted for confrontation than cost them the respect and trust of the Charity.
Obvious questions remain and the Board of the USPCA would welcome clarification.
Why was the destruction order not sought in May ‘06 when the council was made aware of the raid, in February ’07 when the Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with a cruelty case, or 2 May ’07 when the dogs were finally seized. The USPCA doesn’t enjoy a bottomless pit of rate-payers money and a significant part of the £4500 expended by the Charity keeping the dogs could have been saved.
In the past Belfast City Council has relied on USPCA identification of dangerous dogs. Who’s evidence was used to reassure the Court of the illegality of these animals?
