The Councils use a cluster approach to deliver the animal welfare service, based on five Councils regions. A lead co-ordinating Council (Fermanagh and Omagh District Council) liaises directly with DAERA and the other Councils. Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs) deliver the service on the ground with management and administrative support. They are trained by a variety of bodies, including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the Donkey Sanctuary and DAERA’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). The number of cases investigated by Councils since commencement of the animal welfare service on 2 April 2012, to 30 September 2015, is shown in Table 1; and the number of Improvement Notices issued, prosecutions initiated and convictions secured under the 2011 Act, during the same period, is shown in Table 2. The number of prosecutions initiated, and convictions secured, has increased steadily as the Council’s animal welfare service has bedded in since it began work in April 2012. 1: Animal welfare cases investigated by Councils Year Number of Cases 2012-13 4,280 2013-14 4,952 2014-15 4,754 2015-16 4,699 18,685 Table 2: Council Improvement Notices and prosecutions Year Improvement Improvement Prosecutions Convictions Notices Notices under the Complied With 2011 Act 2012/13 189 164 1 1 2013/14 215 183 3 3 2014/15 194 165 28 28 2015/16 192 162 36 36 790 674 68 68 (farmed animals) DAERA enforcement DAERA inspectors have statutory powers to enforce the 2011 Act in respect of farmed animals, which are animals bred or kept for the production of food, wool or skin or for other farming purposes.
The Councils use a cluster approach to deliver the animal welfare service, based on five Councils regions. A lead co-ordinating Council (Fermanagh and Omagh District Council) liaises directly with DAERA and the other Councils. Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs) deliver the service on the ground with management and administrative support. They are trained by a variety of bodies, including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the Donkey Sanctuary and DAERA’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). The number of cases investigated by Councils since commencement of the animal welfare service on 2 April 2012, to 30 September 2015, is shown in Table 1; and the number of Improvement Notices issued, prosecutions initiated and convictions secured under the 2011 Act, during the same period, is shown in Table 2. The number of prosecutions initiated, and convictions secured, has increased steadily as the Council’s animal welfare service has bedded in since it began work in April 2012. 1: Animal welfare cases investigated by Councils Year Number of Cases 2012-13 4,280 2013-14 4,952 2014-15 4,754 2015-16 4,699 18,685 Table 2: Council Improvement Notices and prosecutions Year Improvement Notices Improvement Notices Complied With Prosecutions Convictions under the 2011 Act 2012/13 189 164 1 1 2013/14 215 183 3 3 2014/15 194 165 28 28 2015/16 192 162 36 36 790 674 68 68 DAERA enforcement (farmed animals) DAERA inspectors have statutory powers to enforce the 2011 Act in respect of farmed animals, which are animals bred or kept for the production of food, wool or skin or for other farming purposes.