Ian Paisley calls for Irish dog law change

Ian Paisley is likely to receive widespread support across all of Ireland following his call to change the Republic's dog laws.
The Republic of Ireland must tighten up its dog licensing laws, Ian Paisley has said. His call follows an under cover investigation into dog fighting in Ireland.

Last night Irish viewers were able to witness scenes of dog fights and the trade in fighting dogs during the televised Spotlight report. The BBC programme showed how the dogs were being smuggled into the north of Ireland through the Irish Republic.
"It is clear that the Irish Republic's law on the licensing of dogs is being exploited to forward this outrageous activity, all who saw those pictures will have been horrified by the vicious and grotesque scenes." Said Ian Paisley
Speaking after talking to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Mr Paisley said a review of legislation in the Republic would "go a long way in helping the authorities on both sides of the border to ensure the animal abuse is stopped".

A man uncovered in the Spotlight report as the co-founder of the County Armagh based 'Farmers' Boys', a dog fighting gang involved in local and international dog fighting matches, has been disowned by his family.
His son said his family "thoroughly and unequivocally" wished to distance themselves from him.

The PSNI said they were reviewing the footage featured on the Thursday night programme.
The Farmers' Boys was infiltrated by Spotlight during a 17-month investigation. In total, it uncovered 15 illegal dog fighting gangs in the north of Ireland. Five of those are based in Belfast and some of these groups have links to international dog fighting organisations.
The Spotlight team also found that Tyrone GAA star Gerard Cavlan is a major figure in the world of dog fighting.
In a statement, he said: "I would like to again unreservedly apologise to my family, all of my friends, supporters and colleagues in the GAA for any disappointment or distress that they have felt arising our of events reported."

The PSNI issued a statement saying they would be reviewing the footage and "any evidence of illegal activity will be investigated thoroughly." The investigation found that Cavlan, an all-Ireland medal winner, is a senior figure in a dog fighting operation known as The Bulldog Sanctuary Kennels. Earlier this year, Cavlan, from Dungannon, was convicted of possessing a dangerous dog and fined £650. In April, Dungannon Magistrates Court was told that Cavlan had merely collected the dog from kennels for a Dublin man and was not involved in any other illegal activities.
However, with the aid of a trained undercover operative and secret filming, the Spotlight team discovered that this was not true. During secret filming, after being raided by the USPCA, Cavlan admitted to Spotlight that he still had "a dozen or 15 dogs".
He also talked about the strength and skill of a pit bull terrier in a fight. "Sure he had him in the chest, and he shook him and he shook him for 25 minutes... if he hadn't got you killed in half an hour... he was in trouble, you know. A real hard mouthed dog," he said.

Pit bull terriers and other fighting dogs are banned in the UK and for good reason, in the last month alone pit bull terriers killed a five-year-old girl and seriously injured her grandmother. A leading Liverpool plastic surgeon stated on the same spotlight programme, that despite the ban, he has to deal with attacks on young children, every day. These pit bull type dogs he noted have been particularly attacking toddlers and young children.

A muzzled Pit bull
Irish Community Images

Any fighting dog breed is potentially life threatening to humans and animals alike. Anyone who innocently walks anywhere near one, with their own pet dog is at serious risk. This BBC report followed such an attack in county Antrim earlier this year. This graphically shows the danger in the Republic of Ireland's, naive and dangerous current dog licensing laws.

Hero dog dies in pit bull horror
An Antrim family have said they owe their lives to their pet labrador that died trying to protect them from being savaged by another dog. Sean and Deirdre Doherty escaped with only minor injuries after an horrific attack by a pitbull-type dog in Randalstown Forest Park. The large dog attacked the couple, who live at the Folly, as they took a stroll with their two children.

Deirdre said it attacked their largest pet, Cole, first. "His leg was being chewed, I was on top of him trying to pull the leg free. My husband had the dog from behind, the children were beating the dog with leads," she said. "Eventually, Cole passed out with pain and the dog turned on me. It had me by the arm and flipped my whole body over. Luckily, I had a big padded coat on so the coat took the brunt of it. "We screamed at the kids to run and my husband wrangled the dog off me."
Her husband, Sean, explained that the dog then ran towards the children, Ben, 10, Lauren, 13 and a Marcela, an 18-year-old Argentinean student staying with them. Sean said when their four-year-old labrador, Troy, saw Ben was in danger, it dived to his aid. "My son is only 10, he was at the back, his dog was beside him. Troy turned when he heard me screaming and realised he was about to jump on Ben, he was right on Ben's heels. "The minute he saw Ben was in danger, he saved him. Troy sacrificed himself to save the kids,"

The large dog continued to fight with Troy until police arrived and shot the dog. But the much-loved family pet, the father of Cole, later died from his injuries. "We are just devastated by Troy's death," said Sean. "He always gave hugs, put his head on your chest. We have cuts and bruises from the attack. This other dog was let off to kill. You could see it in his eyes. But the children are okay. We are so thankful to Troy for saving our lives."

Deirdre said there was no sign of a dog owner, and no collar on the pitbull. "It just beggars belief that somebody would let a dog like this run loose in a forest that is regularly used by families," she said. "We can't believe we are still in one piece."

Antrim Borough Council has passed on their sympathy to the family. The council's dog warden, Bernadette Burns, said anyone facing attack from a dangerous dog "should stand still and do not run. Keep your hands reasonably high as moving parts tend to be the first to be bitten.
"Shout 'No' at the dog as this may delay the attack. Avoid direct eye contact and, if the dog starts to come towards you, try to distract it with something you may be carrying," she said.
"If you find your pet under attack, try not to interfere unless you are experienced in the handling of dogs."
Ms Burns added: "Do not try to pull your dog away as the attacker will hold on tighter, instead carry a thick stick which should be put in the dogs mouth to break the hold.
"Make sure you have a mobile phone close to hand and if an attack should occur, call the local PSNI or dog warden immediately."

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Ian Paisley calls for Irish dog law change