New legislation governing the ownership of exotic animals is badly needed following the appearance of a foal zebra at the Ennistymon Horse Fair yesterday.
That is according to Clare Dog Warden and former Clare ISPCA Animal Welfare Officer, Frankie Coote, who confirmed this morning that there is currently no legal restriction preventing the ownership of an exotic animal, such as a zebra, in Ireland.
Images of the foal zebra in various locations around Ennistymon, including one taken showing the zebra inside a well-known local public house, circulated widely on social media overnight.
A number of people have raised concerns over the animals welfare, both as an exotic animal located in Ireland, and as a clearly young animal being placed in unfamiliar surroundings.
A spokesperson from the Ennistymon Horse Fair told The Clare Champion that he had heard about the zebra’s presence at the fair, but he had not personally seen the animal.
Clare Dog Warden, Frankie Coote, said that while significant paperwork and a license is required to import an exotic animal such as a zebra, once they are in the country, they are subject to no extra legal requirements.
“You need a license for a dog, but not for a lion, a tiger or a zebra. Bringing them into the country would be a problem and would need a lot of paperwork, but once they are here, there isn’t really anything,” he said.
“If there is animal welfare concerns then that is different, that is the only way that people can get involved. If an animal was being kept in bad condition. There is nothing to suggest that from the images [online].
“The animal [the foal zebra] is young, so obviously its father and mother must be here in Ireland too. It looks young, he hardly came from Africa yesterday.
“If you are coming into the country with a lion, a tiger or a zebra, you obviously need something, but once they are in the country, that is where the problem arises.
“Really proper legislation should be brought in to cover this. He could have been walking around there with a lion or a tiger yesterday and there is nothing that anyone could do about it.”
Mr Coote highlighted a number of past issues where exotic animals were found in Clare.
“A number of years ago in West Clare, I worked with the [Garda] superintendent at the time, and there was a puma back there in a dog run. He ended up being surrendered when he got bigger but no-one, not the Gardaí, had the authority to take him at the time,” he said.
“A number of years ago there was a lad in Ennis who used to put snakes outside the bingo hall. The Gardaí asked me to go down and take them away, I had to explain to the sergeant that there was no legislation there to do it. I could fine him if it was a dog, but not with a snake.
“The guards could only appeal to him to stop doing it because the women were afraid to go into bingo. That happened below in Chapel Lane. One of the snakes got away and three weeks later it come up the toilet in a local bar and one man got bit.”
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and podcaster who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.