ALMOST 80 horses have been seized by Limerick City and County Council so far this year across the city county.
That’s according to new figures published this past week by the local authority, following a joint operation carried out in two areas of Limerick City which saw 15 horses seized.
According to the Council, the animal seizure operation was in response to “a significant increase in roaming horses on the north side of the city in recent weeks”.
A spokesman for the Council confirmed that the sweep of seizures, made in collaboration with An Garda Síochána, brings to total number of horses seized across Limerick so far in 2024 to 78.
The first seizure operation took place in St Mary’s Park on November 10, and saw six horses seized. The following day, November 11, saw the local authority seize nine horses in Moyross.
Another horse was seized in Cedarwood Grove in Castleconnell on November 13.
A further two horses were seized in St Mary’s Park on November 6.
This comes less than a month after the local authority had to seize a Shetland pony who had been abandoned and left tied to a pole in the pouring rain on the junction of Catherine Street and Thomas Street in Limerick City in mid October.
Photographs and footage circulated on social media showed the animal with its hair knotted and in bad condition as onlookers carefully approached it to check on its welfare.
Following the large seizure operation on November 10 and 11, the Council has spoken out to remind horse owners of regulations around keeping animals, warning of significant penalties and seizures.
A Council spokesman said that “seized horses are detained at the pound for five days to allow horse owners to make themselves known to the Council and reclaim them. If a horse is not reclaimed within five days, it will be re-homed to a horse charity.”
Most horses are re-homed, where possible, to charities outside of Limerick.
“If you believe your horse has been recently seized by LCCC please contact customer services at 061 556 000,” the Council spokesman added.
“You will need to produce your equine identification document (‘Horse Passport’) as proof of ownership.”
Notices of seized horses are posted regularly on limerick.ie.
