Seven horses were seized in early morning raids in Ballybane this week. The horses were removed from a house in the area which had been boarded up for a considerable period.
The raid follows representations by Independent city councillor Terry O’Flaherty to the Galway City Council, the Gardaí, and the GSPCA in relation to horses on public greens and where there were suspected cases of neglect and cruelty.
However she believes “anything from up to 10 horses or more” to have been living in this dwelling.
She said “it is nothing short of a disgrace” that with more than 4,000 applicants on the housing waiting list, a three bed roomed detached bungalow owned by City Hall could be used by certain individuals who are tenants and are known to keep horses.
Cllr O’Flaherty suspects that the issue of boarded up houses is linked to the keeping of horses as “more and more people are turning down the offer of housing in areas where horses are being kept”.
She is now calling on the council to follow up on the seizures with “a get tough policy” in relation to the implementation of the tenancy agreement and the eviction of tenants who keep horses on their properties.
