Cork councillors call for emergency dog warden services

A Cork county councillor has expressed concern about the lack of out-of-hours service provided by local authority dog wardens.

Independent councillor Peter O’Donoghue highlighted the issue at a recent northern committee meeting, following alleged incidents of dogs roaming around Mitchelstown and Mallow.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr O’Donoghue described the importance of the dog warden service in Cork, while he feels it is crucial that a service be provided over the weekends.

“Cork County Council need to acknowledge that we have a big issue here, especially when it comes to the safety.

“The dog warden service that Cork County Council provides is the only service in the entirety of county Cork.

“They are equipped and trained in dealing with dangerous dogs. There is no other service that does that in County Cork.

“So Cork County Council need to acknowledge that this service needs to be continued during the weekends and evenings.

“Not a full service, but an emergency service be in place for emergency situations because it cannot continue the way that it is going with literally no service in place out of hours.”

Responding to a query from The Echo, a spokesperson for Cork County Council said: “Dog warden working hours at present provide for a 39-hour week.

“The service is delivered by the animal welfare unit of the planning and environment directorate and comprises currently of eight dog wardens, each of which is assigned responsibility for a specific area of the county.

“Funding has recently been approved by the Department of Rural and Community Development for the recruitment of two additional dog warden posts and we are in discussion with the department on the drawdown of same.

“The duties of the dog wardens relate primarily to enforcement of the Control of Dogs Act 1986 as amended, in areas such as dog licencing, stray dogs, animal welfare, dangerous breeds etc.

“While the animal welfare unit does not currently operate a formal out-of-hours service, arrangements are in place via the council’s existing out-of-hours contact centre, to log and respond to priority incidents where required, in liaison with An Garda Síochána and other stakeholders as appropriate.”

Labour Party Cork city councillor Peter Horgan said the issue should also be addressed in the city.

“If dog wardens are constrained by inflexible working arrangements, then that is something that should be examined with unions and management in a manner that supports the aim goal for ensuring compliance with rules for dog owners.”