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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Jilly Beattie

Where to report dog cruelty concerns in every council area in NI

Northern Ireland has no single animal welfare agency where the public can report concerns if they witness the abuse or neglect of a dog.

Unlike in England and Wales with the RSPCA and Scotland's SSPCA, prosecutions are made by 11 local councils who are funded to the sum of £1.25million a year by Stormont to uphold and enforce animal welfare legislation.

Left to starve then closed in a trailer (Hayley Doak)

If you suspect an animal welfare issue in your area, here is how you can alert the authorities.

Belfast City

Eastern region

This region covers Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council; and Ards and North Down District Council.

This is how Molly looked when she was found (Hayley Doak)

Northern region

This region covers Mid and East Antrim District Council; Causeway Coast and Glens District Council; and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

Sick and frightened (USPCA)

Southern region

This region covers Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

Darragh recovering from surgery (Friends of Rescue)

Western region

This region covers Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; Derry City and Strabane District Council; and Mid Ulster District Council.

Office hours and emergencies

All emails sent to the above email addresses will only be responded to during office hours: Monday to Friday, 9am - to 5pm excluding public and bank holidays. In an emergency outside normal office hours the public are advised to contact their local vet or the PSNI on 101.

Every year about 6,000 complaints about animal welfare are made in Northern Ireland. Across three years to 2020, a total of 17,470 complaints were received, 14,869 of them established as animal welfare related cases across all 11 council areas. In the same period, councils seized a total of 538 animals, with a further 1,152 handed over voluntarily and 44 people were cautioned under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

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