Accident in Tipperary highlights the dangers posed by loose horses on roads

The Cathaoirleach of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Jackie Cahill TD has called for urgent action to be taken to tackle the dangers that loose, unidentified horses are posing to road users around the country.

The Fianna Fáil TD was speaking recently, following a serious road accident near Littleton in North Tipperary involving a loose horse.

He said: “Unfortunately, there was an accident in Littleton this morning, where a motorist was hospitalised after hitting a horse that was loose on the road.

“My thoughts are with the injured person and I hope they will make a full recovery. This was an accident waiting to happen.

“There are hundreds of horses roaming around the Bord na Móna bogs in Littleton. Tipperary County Council have been alerted to this on many occasions but there are significant resource issues in relation to dealing with the amount of horses involved here. Questions must now be asked about whether this horse was microchipped.

“There is longstanding legislation in this country which creates an obligation for all horses to be microchipped, and the horses in Littleton are certainly no exception to this law.

“I would sincerely doubt that the vast majority of these horses are identified. I am seeking clarity from An Garda Síochána on whether the horse involved in today’s accident was microchipped and I am also writing to the Minister for Agriculture asking what measures are being taken to ensure that free roaming horses are controlled and identified nationwide.

“As Chairperson of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, I will be inviting officials from the Department of Agriculture to appear before our committee to answer questions on how they intend to control compliance in this area and uphold the welfare of all horses in this country.”