CSPCA holds line on animal welfare allegations

With allegations and concerns about animal welfare continuing to beset the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (CSPCA) in Mahon this week, the group has rejected a suggestion that it “account for itself” at a public forum.

Chris Connolly, PRO of the CSPCA, was responding to a call, made by Cllr Chris O’Leary this Thursday, that the CSPCA clear the air regarding the allegations, before the City Council, which contracts the city’s dog warden service to the organisation.

“I’ve had over 10 emails about this in the past week, and it’s clear these are genuine concerns. My position is extreme, but I will be calling on the officials to go in and get answers,” Cllr O’Leary said,

But according to Mr Connolly, the CSPCA meets with personnel from the council’s Recreation & Parks department as a matter of routine, at least once every two months.

Last week, the CSPCA began legal proceedings against Glanmire woman and former society employee, Mary McCarthy, over a Facebook campaign claiming that the society’s committee and employees were not looking after the welfare of animals in their care.

Separately, another online page is hosting a petition calling for the CSPCA committee to be disbanded, which has been signed by 1,120 people to date.

Ms McCarthy declined to comment further on the matter this week, but the concern has lingered, and allegations persisted, on Facebook, to The Cork News and also to local public representatives.

Reiterating that the CSPCA does not put healthy and re-homeable animals to sleep, Mr Connolly admitted that he had difficulty in accounting for the persistence of allegations against the Society.

“Last week, in this paper, I issued an invitation to people to contact me, and I would take them through the operations of the centre. One person took up that invitation. That lady saw another side to the story. But I think it really says something that with all the comment online, only one person was prepared to actually come down and see for themselves,” he said.

Addressing concerns about the portion of the CSPCA budget from the public purse, Mr Connolly revealed Cork City Council pays a sum for the salary the society then pays to the warden. He said it “wouldn’t be fair on the warden” to disclose this salary, but revealed that separately, the €8 that the Council pays for each dog brought to the centre by the warden, typically amounts to €21-22,000 per year, with the Society invoicing City Hall on a monthly basis.