DOG lovers and animal rights campaigners last week staged a protest outside Carlow courthouse against a farmer from Myshall whose puppy farm was closed last April.

Waving placards and chanting “there’s no excuse for animal abuse”, the protesters made themselves heard as they waited for the arrival of James Kavanagh, the man who owned the puppy farm that was described as “a hellhole” by an ISPCA inspector.

A garda speaks to the animal rights protestors outside Carlow courthouse last week
Photo; Karl McDonough

More than 300 dogs and some horses were rescued from a dog-breeding farm owned by Mr Kavanagh from Raheenleigh, Myshall in the single, biggest-ever animal rescue operation in the country.

Chief inspector of the ISPCA, Conor Dowling, told The Nationalist at the time that he had never witnessed such appalling conditions. “The conditions were really, really bad and the scale compounded the situation,” he said.

Some of the dogs were emaciated, suffering from infections and mange and infested with worms. Two days after the initial search of the puppy farm by gardaí and the ISPCA on 14 April, Carlow County Council served a closure order on James Kavanagh and his wife Sheila.

The couple are to appeal the closure order and last Wednesday they made an application of notice to Carlow District Court.

More than 50 people staged a protest outside the courthouse, including supporters from an animal rescue centre, Dogs In Distress. They came from as far away as Belfast, Limerick and Athlone to make their voices heard. But Mr and Mrs Kavanagh didn’t arrive at the courthouse and so weren’t there when their application was called.

Solicitor for Carlow County Council, David Clery, asked Judge Colin Daly to adjourn the case because there’s “an ongoing criminal investigation” into the “subject matter”.

Judge Daly then adjourned it until 3 December for mention in the civil court.