Northern Ireland

Rat poison left in south Belfast area popular with dog walkers

Alliance councillor and Belfast deputy lord mayor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb
Alliance councillor and Belfast deputy lord mayor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb Alliance councillor and Belfast deputy lord mayor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb

AN URGENT clean-up was ordered yesterday after suspected rat poison was found among bread on a stretch of green that's popular with dog walkers.

Around 200 pellets were discovered on Tuesday evening at Annadale Embankment in south Belfast.

Police described the find as "truly despicable" and said the "big concern here is that this has been left out deliberately to entice animals to eat".

They urged people to be vigilant when walking their dogs and ensure they do not eat anything they find on the ground.

Belfast deputy lord mayor Emmet McDonough-Brown, who has a pet dog named Seb, described it as a "shocking act of cruelty".

An image of the suspected rat pellets posted online by the PSNI
An image of the suspected rat pellets posted online by the PSNI An image of the suspected rat pellets posted online by the PSNI

He said that once he became aware of it, he asked the council's cleansing department to ensure any poison was lifted.

"If someone's dog were to eat these pellets they could be facing a big vet bill or, even worse, the death of their pet," the Alliance councillor said.

"I can only hope that someone has done this without thinking through the consequences, but indiscriminately laying poison like this has been done to cause injury to animals.

"If there is a problem with a specific animal, there are other ways of dealing with it."

Writing on the PSNI South Belfast Facebook page, an officer said: "There is absolutely no excuse for this and it will kill or make any animal severely ill, be it rodents or domestic animals.

"The likelihood is a dog would have eaten these and a family is left with a hefty vet bill or even worse the death of a beloved member of the family."

Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb
Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown with his dog Seb

SDLP Botanic representative Gary McKeown condemned the incident and described it as "an extremely cruel and heartless thing to do".

"Rat poison will cause a long and painful death in a pet dog or cat, so I have absolutely no idea why anyone would do this. I hope that no dogs have consumed the poison and that it hasn't been left out elsewhere," he said.

"Please keep an eye out for anything resembling this when walking your dog and ensure it doesn't eat anything it finds on the ground."

Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference 1600 of 23/4/19.