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Parliamentary Questions and Answers
Questions 198 and 199 - Answered on 19 May 2016
Paul Murphy, TD (Dublin South West, Anti Austerity Alliance)
To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he takes to protect the welfare of greyhounds exported outside of Ireland; if he has concerns as to the welfare of greyhounds exported to the Macau Special Administrative Region in China; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11061/16]
To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of greyhounds exported by country in each of the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11062/16]
Michael Creed, TD (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 198 and 199 together.
Once appropriate animal health and welfare certification requirements are met, dogs, including greyhounds, may be exported internationally. Health certification arrangements are in place and exporters are also required to comply with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1 of 2005 on the protection of animals during transport. A range of flight carriers make the appropriate arrangements for the safe transport of animals worldwide in accordance with the requirements of International Air Transport.
With regard to the export of greyhounds to Macau, the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) has recently advised all owners involved in the export of greyhounds to only export to destinations that provide the expected levels of care and management as defined in the IGBs Code of Practice for the welfare of greyhounds. I fully endorse this view.
There are no requirements or facilities for recording the breed of dog as part of the export certification process. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide the Deputy with the breakdown of export trade statistics he is seeking. In addition, up to 2014, dogs moved freely between Ireland and the UK. However, following the implementation of EU Regulations 576/13 and 577/13, a more detailed breakdown of canine exports to EU countries from Ireland from 2015 onwards is available and these are set out in the following table. Exports to third countries are not recorded centrally; however I understand that 9 dogs were exported recently to China.
| Country of Destination | Number of Animals Exported in 2015 | 1 Jan. to 16 May 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 50 | 17 |
| Czech Republic | 80 | 16 |
| Denmark | 12 | 5 |
| Finland | 0 | 9 |
| France | 29 | 3 |
| Germany | 277 | 112 |
| Greece | 1 | 16 |
| Italy | 362 | 137 |
| Luxembourg | 0 | 2 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 |
| Malta | 3 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 18 | 8 |
| Norway | 2 | 11 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 |
| Portugal | 70 | 42 |
| Slovenia | 4 | 8 |
| Spain | 44 | 13 |
| Sweden | 580 | 459 |
| Switzerland | 26 | 6 |
| United Kingdom | 9,256 | 3,628 |
| 10,816 | 4,492 | |
