| Killing of pigs in city centre probed |
GARDAI are appealing for information about the grisly slaughter of two pigs on a derelict city-centre site. The killings, which took place on Saturday morning off Marlborough Street, just yards from the Pro Cathedral in Dublin's north inner city, have shocked animal activists. According to a caller to RTE's 'Liveline' show yesterday, her daughter was alerted to the cruelty when she heard pigs squealing on the site while walking along the street on her way to work. The young woman estimated that between 12 and 15 people, whom she thought were Eastern European, were present while the pigs - which were hanging upside down - were beaten and then beheaded. She also claimed that money was changing hands while the brutal killings were taking place and was "very upset" at what she had seen. Another woman in a hotel overlooking the site witnessed the killings and alerted the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Their duty inspector was dealing with a case in Dun Laoghaire and could not get to the scene in time, but he contacted the gardai. Last night the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said they had not yet received a report from the garda authorities. Spokesperson Gillian Bird said: "We are shocked that people should be doing this type of thing." Slaughter The Abattoir Act 1988 stipulated that animals must be spared avoidable pain during movement, lairage, restraint, stunning, slaughter or killing and that all slaughtering must be done on licensed premises. Other reports of which the DSPCA has heard include a lamb being kept in a garden before being slaughtered and barbecued and a sheep kept in rented accommodation in Harold's Cross. Last night Ms Bird said that the DSPCA would be seeking out CCTV footage of the Marlborough Street site in the hope of obtaining information on the culprits. But she said that, in order to bring a prosecution, they needed witnesses and she called on the public to be vigilant about such activities. Frank Khan |
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