Animal Health & Welfare Bill (Ireland)

To the House of Oireachtas.

We call upon you to push through the final draft of the Animal Health & Welfare Bill with the utmost urgency. It has been nearly 2 yrs in the making and in it's final draft, now is the time to have this passed. 2011 saw some of the worst cases of equine neglect ever recorded, in excess of 10,000 horses were abandoned, left for dead, dying, injured & starving. This will happen again, the current act of 1911 does not reflect today's society which is why you as a government must push this through without delay. Also, under current European law all equines must hold a passport and be micro-chipped, why is this law not being upheld in Ireland?. This country is known for it's affinity with horses worldwide yet we do not set an example. We must start to implement this law as this will help reduce the neglect & cruelty as people will be held accountable for their actions.