The neglect and possible death of a horse on a Ballybane housing estate has led Independent city councillor Mike Cubbard to demand immediate eviction notices for anyone who keepinf such animals on Galway City Council property.
His call follows being contacted by a number of Ballybane residents over the weekend who saw a horse in the area that was on the ground, “still alive at the time, but too weak to get up or move around,” according to Cllr Cubbard. On Monday he received more calls “alleging this animal subsequently died overnight”, after which it was “lifted onto a trailer” of a van and removed. He further alleged that a passer-by who witnessed the removal was told to “move on or else”.
Cllr Cubbard said the incident highlights how the issue of horses in housing estates “needs to be addressed”. He said: “A minority of individuals are keeping these animals in housing estates which are under management of the Galway City Council, but no housing estate in our city should be subject to horses, horse boxes, and the racing of carts on a daily basis.”
Cllr Cubbard said it was “astonishing” that people can be gaoled “for having no TV licence, yet we allow this treatment of animals continue”. He is now calling on City Hall “to stand firm” on its tenancy agreements, and “any evidence of horses being kept on a Galway City Council property should trigger an eviction notice”. He said if tenants are “not willing to comply with tenancy conditions or respect neighbours, amenities and neighbourhoods, they should not be afforded a local authority home to abuse”.
