This week's Letters in The Impartial Reporter.

We should pay closer attention to puppy farms

Dear Sir,

I would like to thank Victoria Johnston for her alarming feature about the scale of puppy farming in the United Kingdom, and in particular the shocking revelation that the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area is home to the three-largest licensed dog breeding establishments in the United Kingdom.

What the feature doesn’t reveal, however, is the impact of the practice of large-scale puppy farming on the individual breeding animals.

As someone who has recently re-homed a former puppy farm ‘mum’, I have seen at first hand the consequences of the cruelty inflicted on these poor creatures.

Perhaps I have used the term ‘rehomed’ erroneously. The dog – a little cocker spaniel, now known as ‘Dory’ – never had a ‘home’ in the first place. Dory spent most of the three years of her life in a small cage, racked above and below countless others.

When rescued by the animal shelter, her physical and mental conditions were nothing short of alarming. Her coat was caked with faeces and urine, she was infested with lice and fleas, and she was grossly underweight.

When we met Dory for the first time, she quivered with fear at everything around her; people, birds in the trees, and even the feelings of the sun on her back and grass under her paws were a complete novelty.

I’m glad to say that with a lot of care and attention in the four weeks that she has been with us, Dory is steadily improving, but there is a long way to go. How can any council licence an establishment that discards these victims of human greed on such a massive scale?

We were told by the rescue centre that Dory’s condition was by no means an aberration, and in fact many were in an even worse state!

What criteria are used by the Council to determine standards of animal welfare when granting licences?

As Tara Cunningham, of Causeway Coast Dog Rescue, commented, the country needs to shed its puppy farming reputation. Fermanagh and Omagh [District Council] clearly have a large part to play in that process.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Buchanan

Let’s get speed limit lowered by Devenish College

Dear Sir,

Along with many other members of the community, I’m calling on the powers that be to listen to our fears for children attending Devenish College, and to take action now to reduce the speed limit by the school before a child is seriously injured – or even killed – by a passing speeding vehicle.

Here are three reasons why the speed limit should be reduced to, ideally, 30mph, alongside Devenish College.

Firstly, according to police figures, Northern Ireland has the highest rate of child casualties on the road in the United Kingdom. Around 15 children are killed or injured a week, on average, in the province.

It is a known fact that speed kills. Especially outside one of Fermanagh’s largest schools, will it take a death for things to change?

Secondly, car crashes can happen in an instant, but their consequences can last a lifetime. At higher speeds, car crashes become exponentially more dangerous.

Studies have shown that the impact of a crash at 50-60mph is four times greater than at 30mph. The chance of survival at lower speeds is higher – what if it was your child?

Thirdly, if the speed limit was lower than 50mph, parents of children at Devenish may be happier with them walking to school, which would help towards a healthier lifestyle, and support Greener transport.

So, please, whoever is responsible for lowering speed limits, and as many people or official steps such a move would have to go through, please listen at last to our community’s fears, and lower the speed limit for traffic passing by Devenish College.

Our children’s lives and safety are worth it.

Yours faithfully,

Name with Editor.

Thanks to all who supported these collections

Dear Sir,

Air Ambulance NI (AANI) would like to thank North Fermanagh Young Defenders Flute Band and all the numerous bands who took part in their annual Kesh Band Parade on Friday, August 23.

This was held in memory of Oisin Gregg – a former very respected member of their band, who sadly lost his life in a car accident.

Through the generosity of band members and onlookers, the amazing total raised was £2,515.

Yours faithfully,

Myrtle Irvine,

Local AANI volunteer

Dear Sir,

Newtownbutler Ladies Football Club wish to thank all those who contributed so generously to a street collection held last year on Saturday, August 5, 2023.

The total raised was £1,075, and €447.

Yours faithfully,

Rosaleen Lynch,

Secretary,

Newtownbutler Ladies Football Club

Dear Sir,

Ballindarragh Accordion Band would like to thank everyone for their donations at the band’s parade on June 29. The total amount raised was £1,510.07.

Yours faithfully,

Edwin Armstrong,

Band Master.

Dear Sir,

The local fundraising branch of Lough Erne RNLI would like to thank the general public for their kind donations during recent collections carried out in Lisnaskea and Enniskillen.

In Lisnaskea, on Saturday, August 3, the amount collected was £465.96.

In Enniskillen, on Saturday, August 17, the amount collected was £1,192.13

The RNLI are most grateful for this support, as this helps to maintain a rescue service on the lakes of Fermanagh.

Yours faithfully,

Norma Scott,

Secretary, Lough Erne RNLI Fundraising Branch

Dear Sir,

Trillick Pipe Band would like to express our gratitude to all those who helped make our annual band parade on Friday, June 28 in Trillick such a success.

Special thanks goes to the nine bands in attendance who entertained the public on the night, and to the PSNI for their support.

Heartfelt thanks to the very generous members of the local community, who donated £662.72.

Yours faithfully,

Claire Hilliard,

Band Secretary.