A ‘defenseless’ dog has died following a ‘deliberate firework attack’ in Meath on Friday night.
The dog was found with horrific facial injuries by a woman walking home in Dunboyne on Halloween night.
She believed the attack was ‘not an accident’.
The dog was alive when the woman found it but succumbed to its injuries shortly afterwards.
The woman described the sight as ‘devastating’ and added that she believed it was a deliberate attack on the dog.
Martina Kenny, co-founder of My Lovely Horse Rescue, said: ‘This was not a prank – it was a crime.
'Let’s be clear, what happened in Dunboyne was illegal. The deliberate use of fireworks or “bangers” to injure an animal constitutes an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.’
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The charity added that the attack on the dog was ‘deliberate, and those responsible must be found, charged, and prosecuted’.
They continued: ‘The era of turning a blind eye to illegal breeding and animal abuse must end now.
‘My Lovely Horse Rescue has written to the Minister for Agriculture requesting to be formally recognised as authorised officers under the Animal Health and Welfare Act, so that we can assist in enforcement and ensure cases like Dunboyne are never ignored again.’
The charity have launched a petition asking the Government to establish a Garda animal welfare crime unit, close loopholes that allow unregulated, large-scale dog breeding and appoint a national director of animal welfare.
It also includes launching a national public education campaign to expose the links between animal cruelty, domestic violence, and organised crime.
Speaking to LMFM, Leas Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council Caroline O’Reilly described the incident as ‘shocking and cruel’.
She explained that it has ‘left the whole community in Dunboyne and beyond Dunboyne very angry’.
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Caroline shared: ‘To be honest, I couldn’t sleep thinking about it last night.
‘It’s actually, it’s really hard to get your head around it. It was a shocking and cruel act that’s left the whole community in Dunboyne and beyond Dunboyne very angry.
‘A defenceless dog was killed with a firework in the public park last night. Halloween is supposed to be a fun family night. and the amount of fireworks going off last night was unbelievable.
‘But it’s just hard to understand how anyone could do something like that. My sympathy goes first of all to the dog’s owner and family and to the lady who stayed with the dog at the time.
‘It was an extremely traumatic event for everybody, but at the end of the day this boils down to an individual or a group who thought this was a fun thing to do.
‘That’s what’s most disturbing, and I can see the whole community are horrified that someone would do this to a defenceless animal.’
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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