“As a rescue and rehoming charity, specialising in animal welfare, we are experiencing an increase of requests from public regarding how to report abuse and neglect that is witnessed in our communities. Dogs | nidirect There are three agencies responsible to deliver services to support animal welfare – DAERA, Your Council and the Police Service.
Your local council is ultimately responsible for investigating, enforcing and prosecuting abuse and neglect which is reported by individuals. This report is potentially a crime and will be treated as such at the start of the investigation. When you do make a report, please give as much information as possible, as you can also email them photographs and video if you have it, as you are effectively providing a statement of what you have experienced, which sometimes can be a traumatic experience.
Also, please do not forget to ask for the Crime Reference number as this is the only way you will be able to follow up with any updates, or to follow any progress which may or may not take place.
A dog warden is to be contacted when it comes to a stray, or an issue with noise from a dog continuously barking in the area, non-microchipping or non-licencing of a dog. Animal Welfare is to be contacted if you witness abuse or neglect and Police services are to be contacted if related to dog fighting, or just out of hours, ie evenings, weekends and bank holidays, as council staff no longer cover these hours. Welfare on Animals Act – Sanctions and Penalties Quick Guide
Your local office contact numbers can be sourced at the animal welfare link Animal welfare – local councils | nidirect Our members will do everything to help and support you to report and follow up on reporting what you have experienced. If you are in doubt, please phone the police especially if out of hours on ‘101’. For animal welfare to investigate, they prioritise each report as a Priority 1, 2 or 3, and no investigation should take any more than 2 weeks to initiate. If a dog has been left alone in a house or location and abandoned, it is Priority 1 and council animal welfare officers should be out to investigate the same day. Please come forward as you also don’t always need to give your name if you are concerned in any way, it is important animals have a voice so please come forward, there is no reason for any animal in Northern Ireland to be left to suffer in silence.” CCDR.
If you would like to donate, which supports us in the work we are doing to improve animal welfare, go to … Make a donation to Causeway Coast Dog Rescue Charity THANK YOU.