Ards and North Down Council is to look at setting up an animal abuse register for the borough, following Stormont's failure to establish an NI wide database.
At the council’s recent Environment Committee, elected members agreed to a motion forwarded by Independent Unionist Councillor Tom Smith, with an amendment by Green Councillor Rachel Woods.
Environment Minister Edwin Poots said in June this year an animal cruelty register in Northern Ireland would be “untenable” for legal and financial reasons. Work on creating a database has been taking place for years, with Belfast City Council passing a motion calling on Stormont to initiate an animal cruelty register as far back as 2015.
