This article is from page 9 of the 2014-04-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
AN ANIMAL rights group has offered a € 5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the deaths and dumping of 17 animals in Doonbeg.
The decomposing carcasses of approximately 10 horses, four cattle and three calves were discovered at the bottom of the spectacular Baltard Cliffs last week.
Gardaí in Kilrush, along with Clare County Council, the Department of Agriculture and the ISPCA are investigating how the animals died and who dumped their remains.
One horse was found at the top of the cliff, barely alive, and had to be put down by a local vet.
Questions also remain if the animals at the bottom of the cliff were fully dead at the time their bodies were dumped over the cliff edge.
The animal carcasses, which have been at the scenic cliffs for up to two months, have not yet been removed as there is some difficulty in getting the proper equipment to where they are located.
“The council is trying to determine if it can get a tracked machine down to where they are located, which is not easily accessible.
“The HSE has advised the council that the animals are not going to cause a public nuisance in the meantime due to their remote location,” said a council spokesperson yesterday (Monday).
The group, Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN), has now offered a reward for information.
John Carmody from ARAN said, “The new laws which the Minister introduced recently are clearly not going to deter these cowards from taking their issues out on whomever is available to them.
“As a nation we should now hang our heads in shame that we’ve reached a point where animal abuse has now gone so out of control that those who are involved in it, simply don’t have anything to fear. We’ve been saying it for years.”