The Lord Mayor explained that a 47-year-old man has been arrested and charged with abandonment and causing unneccesary suffering to animals and is due to appear before court on September 9.
Wishing to draw members’ attention to a media statement from the PSNI received that afternoon the Lord Mayor said the correspondence sets out that “we all must respect due process and until court proceedings have concluded the public are urged not to comment or speculate as to do so may jeopardise the prospect of a fair hearing”.
Alderman Stephen Moutray concurred with the Lord Mayor’s comments in relation to the “unfortunate event” adding that his thoughts in this difficult time were with the “neighbours of Sloan Street Mews, the council staff, PSNI and Arbour Housing” who have all had involvement with such a “horrific event”.
He continued: “I have with others attended numerous meetings and I am aware of the chronological order of events and visits.
“It is my contention that the only person at fault here is a person who caged two innocent dogs and left them to die a horrific death. Hopefully, the course of law will take place in due course and a conviction will be brought forward.”
Similarly, Cllr Peter Haire said he was “deeply upset” in learning of the tragic circumstances in which the two dogs died.
The Sloan Street area is within the Cllr’s DEA and he said this “makes it particularly close to home as someone who cares deeply about animal welfare.
“I have a dog myself ‘Buddy’ who is not simply a pet but a much loved member of our family. I find it extremely difficult to get these two dogs out of my mind. I cannot understand how any animal could be allowed to suffer in such circumstances.
“What these dogs endured must have been horrendous. The pain, suffering and neglect they experienced is desperate and the thoughts are with the people involved in discovering these animals and who had to witness these conditions firsthand.
“This is something I am sure will stay with them for a very long time.”
The Cllr asserted that public focus thus far had been directed towards the various agencies involved said and he agreed that the questions raised “need to be properly examined”, adding “if there’s lessons to be learned they must be acted upon”.
Cllr Kyle Savage alos concured with all points raised and said forcefully, “There is no place for that within our society and I hope the full rigour of the law is brought down upon the person responsible”.
