City council spends €11k rescuing goats on busy Cork road

Cork City Council has revealed that €11,000 has been spent to date on rescuing goats on the North Ring Rd, as a local councillor called for more to be done to find those responsible for animal neglect.

Paul Moynihan, director of local area development and operations, told Labour Party councillor John Maher that the council had recently appointed a specialist contractor to deal with the issue of goats grazing on public lands adjoining roads, including the North Ring Rd.

“The work involved is necessarily time-consuming, involving many man hours, as successful removal involves being able to work very closely near the goats and establish their trust prior to capture, any stress to the animals resulting in unpredictable flight, possibly on to a nearby road,” said Mr Moynihan.

Nine goats have been removed to date, with an estimate that there are at least another eight still to be removed, but the captured goats have no tags, making it impossible to identify owners.

The council informed Mr Maher earlier this week that, to date, €11,000 has been spent on the operation.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Maher said that while Cork City Council should spend whatever money is needed to protect vulnerable animals “we must also hold those responsible for this mistreatment to account”.

“Not enough is being done to protect vulnerable animals across the city,” he said.

“This month, we have had two dead animals. Despite the efforts of the public to raise the alarm, two horses died in the most horrible circumstances.

“To add insult to injury, these animals were left in public due to the bureaucracy associated with caring for animals.

“We have horses roaming housing estates and entering people’s gardens and nothing is being done.”

He continued: “All stakeholders must be more efficient in dealing with animal cruelty and the people responsible must be held to account and punished for this behaviour.

“I would ask again for the specialist contractor involved to reach out to me as I see these animals daily. They are very young and cross the North Ring Rd on a daily basis. Are we waiting for a collision with a bus or an articulated truck?”

Mr Maher said he has a motion before Cork City Council’s Environment, Water and Amenity Strategic Policy Committee next week to debate animal welfare and the council’s approach to managing it, saying: “We must do better.

“As I speak, goats are still grazing on the North Ring Rd, interfering with our fire station, council depot, Ballyvolane Commercial Park, housing estates, main roads, and pedestrian crossings.”