Debate contribution: Review of Local Councils’ Animal Welfare Policies

Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on 6 May 2025.

MLA

Mr Robbie Butler

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

6 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Review of Local Councils’ Animal Welfare Policies

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4929855

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I may not use the 10 minutes. I will take the opportunity to thank each and every Member who spoke in the debate. We are definitely a nation of dog lovers. That was evident from those who spoke in this very important debate. They spoke with humanity and compassion that, sometimes, we do not show to each other. It is interesting that we can come to this point in the day and talk so eloquently about a subject that actually resonates with many of our constituents out there. I am not sure whether Members are aware of that, and it may be useful when it comes round to elections, but it is evidence that we are genuinely a nation of dog lovers. You see how news reports feed off instances and acts of animal cruelty. Those news items are often at the top of news cycles. That is why it is important for us to talk about them. In their input to the debate, Members have mostly been singing off the same hymn sheet. I remember the Minister saying, at the start of the mandate, that animal welfare would be one of his key priorities. As anybody who has any history here will understand, if it does not say something in a Bill, in legislation or on a piece of paper, we cannot take each other's word for it. As the Minister rightly pointed out, we have a compressed mandate. However, that, in and of itself, is no excuse for not ensuring that we put the detail down. That is the purpose of the motion. It has five points. Whilst I accept that there have been words of encouragement from the Alliance Party and words to suggest that those points would be addressed, I ask other Members to consider what has been left out of the amendment, particularly the commitment to eradicate the five-day target that some councils have. I also challenge the Minister's point that previous legislation confers powers to councils. Every party agrees — maybe I will get to it when I pick through my notes — that the disparity of approach by different councils and the postcode lottery that exists may point to our taking that role primarily, through primary legislation and the changes that need to come from that. Regardless of whether it happens in this mandate, we need a consistent approach across all councils. That will require us, as the key legislators, to do it. I put on record my party's particular thanks to the Dogs Trust NI. Every party did that. To give a sense of the scope of its work: last year, it rehomed 1,576 dogs. That was done by one voluntary charity. I also thank the USPCA for its advocacy in this space and its insistence on the priorities that needed to be captured in the motion. The Assembly must — I think that it will — commit to the highest possible standards for the welfare of dogs in Northern Ireland. We cannot justify a system that allows healthy dogs that could be rehomed to be euthanised after just five days. Dogs that demonstrably pose no risk to public safety should be at no risk, especially in council-run facilities that ought to provide protection and not premature death. Members will know that provision by community and voluntary agencies outstrips statutory provision. We saw that very much through the COVID pandemic. There is a case of it in my constituency of Lagan Valley. The work that the rehoming charity Almost Home does out of its own pocket is phenomenal. It does not apply the same rules that we do in statutory functions such as councils. I will not be hard on councils, except to say that they struggle to interpret the legislation that has been passed over the past number of years. I will go back to a very public debate that took place in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, not so long ago, about a dog called Max. It was about the XL bully stuff. Now, people will have their views on that legislation, but I will say that councils struggle to apply the legislation because it is multilayered and not instructive enough. Unfortunately, because our animal and dog welfare legislation is not complete enough, councils then find themselves in the eye of the storm. The difficulty in that instance was that dog wardens, who were legitimately trying to do their best, had to work within the confines of legislation when they either could not see its full scope or did not understand how to fully address it.

To improve outcomes, we need to see the proper licensing of all dog kennels and pounds, coupled with regular unannounced inspections. We must bring in a consistent standard with clear accountability that ends the postcode lottery. Councils should be required to publish regular data on their euthanasia rates and their rehoming and adoption outcomes. We cannot fix what we cannot measure. A full review of dog control policies is overdue. That would ensure that such policies reflected modern animal welfare science and practice, not outdated or inconsistent approaches. We must finally revisit the entire dog licensing system in Northern Ireland, because responsible ownership starts with clear legal obligations, proper licensing and microchipping being consistently enforced so that we can better prevent stray dogs ending up in already overstretched pounds. To be fair to the Minister, he outlined a number of key priorities that will require some fine-tuning, one of which was Lucy's law, and the third-party sales of animals, which we really need to get to grips with. A change in attitudes will not happen overnight, but it will not happen at all, if we do not have a more proactive and committed approach from the Department and those in the Chamber. Warm words will not save a single dog, but policy change will. Let us be clear: this is a test of our compassion and our willingness to act. The public and the public who are animal lovers expect better. More important, Max the cockapoo, Minnie the St Bernard and all our dogs and those out there that the public own and love deserve better.

1,038 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:27 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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