A member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food has called for all potential dog owners to take a theory test before being allowed to adopt a dog.

Fianna Fáil's Senator Paul Daly was speaking on Wednesday as the committee discussed dog control, dog attacks and sheep worrying with farm and rural organisations.

The committee will be drafting a report to the Department of Agriculture with measures to control dogs and reduce the risk of attacks on sheep, which will include further funding and powers for gardaí and dog wardens, mandatory microchipping of dogs and a DNA database of all dogs in Ireland.

In addition, Senator Daly said there needs to be controls to make sure dogs are being adopted by competent owners.

“A dog owner, of any breed of a dog, should not be allowed to chip a dog or get a license without doing a theory test,” he said. “Anyone could have a dog, but not know the consequences of having a dog.”

Education

The farm organisations and the members of the committee agreed that there needs to be more awareness and education for the public.

Suggestions were made about campaigns that could be run in schools, as well as advertisements on television.

“Enough can’t be done to highlight the issue to the public because the big issue here, the problem, is the dog owners,” added Senator Daly.

“It’s not savagery; the amount of people out there that say ‘sure our little lad is only a poodle; he’s the loveliest thing in the world. He wouldn’t do harm.’

“He’ll run after a ball, he’ll run after a stick, he’ll run after a sheep and it’s the worrying and chasing of ewes heavy in lamb - the chase can [be] every bit as much damage.”

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