WSPCA Newsletter 2014 - Waterford Society for the Prevention of

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the
Waterford SPCA
Waterford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Registered Charity No.743
New Waterford
SPCA Charity Shop
Do you remember this girl?...
In February 2013 Waterford SPCA rescued two mares from a wet bog
hole. They were emaciated, starving and covered in rain scald. One of
the mares, a thoroughbred grey, pictured above, had been clipped and
thrown out into winter weather without a rug. Thankfully, our beautiful
Breeze, survived and as you can see from the picture is thriving in her
new home. Her companion, Sadie, also made a good recovery, after
much tender, loving care. If Breeze and Sadie could talk they would ask
us to whinney a big thank-you to all involved in their rescue and aftercare.
Save these dates please….
New Shop
A.G.M.
Tesco Ardkeen
October 15th
October 21st
October 24th
Come along and
meet Nuala and her
team at the opening
of the new shop.
Looking forward to
meeting you at the
A.G.M., come along,
have your say.
We are looking for
volunteers to help
with our big
hallowe’en bag pack.
There’s a lot of activity in
Summerland Square at the
moment. We are extending
upgrading and renovating the
shop. Our charity shop has
provided a steady source of
income for the work of the society
over the years. This is all thanks to
Nuala, our shop manager, her
amazing team of voluntary
assistants, generous donations
from the public and our loyal
customer base
Our current shop is being retained
and revamped. Some designer
items, vintage stuff, top quality
ladies, gents and children’s
clothing, accessories and furniture
will be housed in a new premises
located around the corner on
Ozanam Street, across from the
Mercy School. Look out for
further details on Facebook.
Waterford S.P.C.A. Newsletter
AUTUMN 2014
Happy Tails
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid, a feral goat from the Passage-East herd,
had a narrow brush with busy holiday traffic, this
summer. In response to a call, Alice found Billy, lying
immobile on the side of the road. Alice took Billy to
City Vets where x-rays revealed a broken pelvis. With
the help of the staff in City Vets, a foster home was
found for Billy and he now making a good recovery
Gizmo
Our darling Gizmo has finally being rehomed. We had
lumps in our throats saying “Goodbye” to gentle,
darling Gizmo. This boy had a bit of a wait for his
forever home. His new family tells us that his biggest
demand so far is for lots of hugs and cuddles. We wish
Gizmo a happy ever after in his new home.
Sadie and Aimee
Meet Sadie and Aimee. When we rescued them,
Sadie, was covered in lice, emaciated, injured and
starving. She had been abandoned along with her
foal, Aimee and was extremely stiff due to having
spent the winter outdoors. Sadie and Aimee have
both made a great recovery.
Ladies Mini-Marathon
A BIG THANK-YOU to sisters, Joan Power and
Marie McDonald who raised €410 for Waterford
SPCA in the Flora Ladies Mini-Marathon. The
money will help fund the keep of dogs in our kennels,
the feral cat neutering scheme and maintenance of the
van, which helps us keep up with the ever increasing
number of welfare calls to our office.
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Waterford S.P.C.A. Newsletter
A former president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep
Farmers’ Association (ICFSA) pleaded guilty at
Carlow District court to neglect of cattle, sheep,
horses and donkeys on his farm.
Judge Eamon O’Brien sentenced Mr. Deegan to five
months imprisonment and described the treatment
of the animals as “appalling”.
Barbara Bent, chairperson of the Waterford SPCA,
visited the farm with Garda Chris Murray on April
24th, 2013 after Waterford SPCA received a call
from a concerned member of the public.
In an interview reported in The Sunday Independent,
Ms. Bent spoke of finding 75 horses on the farm,
many pregnant and emaciated, some with last year’s
foals, in a most dreadfully poor state. Two horse
carcasses were present, one of which was there for
quite some time.
Horses were gathered around an old jeep with hay
in the back. These hungry horses were clamouring
over the rusty bonnet to get at the feed. One tiny
new pony foal was observed, struggling to keep up
with his mother and Ms. Bent had to immediately
remove this vulnerable little foal to a safe place.
There were donkeys present also, in urgent need of
hoof care.
Further up the fields, Ms. Bent and Gardaí found
about thirteen dead sheep. It was hard to be accurate
about numbers as it was likely that foxes had eaten
many of the carcasses judging by the bits and bones
present all over the place.
There were ten suckler cows present in very poor
condition and grass was very scare due to the farm
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being extremely overstocked.
There was a downer cow, still alive in an old shed
but in a bad way.
At Mr. Deegan’s second farm, Ms. Bent and Gardaí
found additional suckler cows in very poor
condition. The cows were emaciated, calving on
slats with slurry underfoot, giving the calves little
chance of survival. “We have never seen cows in
such a state,” Ms. Bent stated, “it was unbelievable,
totally unacceptable and we hope never to see
animals in such condition again”
Ms. Bent described finding a little ewe with a lamb
at foot and another dead one hanging out of her.
After a successful effort at catching the ewe and
lamb, Ms. Bent described seeing Mr. Deegan pick
up the little lamb and fling it into the back of his van
“with such force we were speechless. Naturally it
bleated in pain and struggled out towards the door
only to be given the same treatment again, certainly
not the behaviour of a “good shepherd””
The Sunday Indepndent, reports that Mr. Deegan is
appealing the severity of his sentence
If you suspect an animal is
being neglected, mistreated or
abused please call Waterford
SPCA at
051-841432
New Animal Welfare Act is good news for animals
Waterford SPCA welcomes the signing of
the commencement order for the Animal
Health and Welfare Act 2013.
While the focus of the 1911 act, was the
investigation of cases of cruelty to animals,
the focus of the new act is on the welfare of
animals and prevention of cruelty and
suffering. The act obliges owners to
provide five freedoms for the animals in
their care. The tenets covered under the act
are - freedom from hunger, thirst,
discomfort, injury and disease, freedom to
exhibit natural behaviour and freedom from
fear and distress. If owners do not make
provision for these freedoms they can find
themselves before the courts
The act gives gardaí, department officials
and now, six professionally trained ISPCA
inspectors, powers to intervene and
investigate situations where animals are
likely to suffer.
THANK-YOU Minister Coveney
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ABOUT US
We’re on the web – Check us out at
www.waterfordspca.ie
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Waterford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was
founded in 1870. It’s aim was to promote animal welfare in the
city and county and over a century and a half later this is still our
purpose.Waterford SPCA is a registered charity, charity number
743, and is affiliated to the ISPCA.We strongly encourage the
neutering of pets as we believe that a great deal of welfare
problems amongst companion animals have their roots in the
breeding of unwanted animals. We find homes for animals taken
into our care mainly as a result of abuse, neglect and irresponsible
breeding.
Find us on
Facebook
Leonardo and Spar (above)
rescued and neutered by
Waterford SPCA and rehomed
with the help of Nine Lives Cat
Rescue
Calling All Animal Lovers
There’s a great
selection of
ISPCA
Christmas
Cards and
2015 calendars
now in stock
at our shop
and at the
Bookcentre
Are you an animal lover? Can you devote one day
a month to the welfare of feral cats? Are you over
26 with a full driver’s licence? If so..we are
interested in meeting with you.
Waterford SPCA are looking for volunteers to
work on its’ feral cat neutering programme.
Traps are used to humanely capture feral cats so
that they can be spayed or neutered and released
back to their habitat.
We are looking for assistants to work with our
experienced volunteers in this very challenging and
rewarding work.
If you think you can help us please contact our
office at Summerland Square at 051-841432