Northern Ireland gets new anti-cruelty law
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2011:
STORMONT, Northern Ireland –The first update of the
Northern Ireland Welfare of Animals Act since 1972 cleared the
Northern Ireland Assembly on February 22, 2011. It is expected to
take effect in April 2011, after the formality of royal assent.
Ulster SPCA director Stephen Philpott called the update “A
complete sellout,” because it gives law enforcement authority for
non-farmed animals to local councils, as in Britain. Such authority
had by default devolved to the Ulster SPCA.