The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) is a registered charity, established in 1840 to prevent cruelty to animals and is now Ireland's largest animal welfare organisation. Cruelty, neglect, accidental injury and sickness to animals continues today - and we are still here dealing with these problems.
We fight animal cruelty and abuse in all of its forms. When a call is received from a member of the public concerned that an animal is being mistreated, our Inspectors will call out to investigate. These calls will sometimes result in us prosecuting the owner for cruelty. More details..
Ambulance Service
Our team of inspectors deal with a variety of cases of accidental injury to animals, be they wild or domesticated. A typical day's cases may include dealing with oil pollution to swans, injured dogs or even the rescuing of orphaned baby animals.
Our inspectors provide full cover five days a week and emergency cover at night, on Saturdays and public holidays. The Inspectors make an average of 500 call outs per month. More details..
Long-Term Care of Animals
The shelter at Mount Venus Road, Rathfarnham cares for animals rescued from cruelty, neglect or injury and is currently home to a shifting population of cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, ponies, donkeys, snakes, goats, sheep, turkeys, ducks, geese, chickens, and many more.
We are the only Equine rescue centre serving the Dublin area as well as being the largest animal rescue organisation in Ireland. More details..
New Homes For Animals
We are pleased to find new homes for animals whom we have nursed back to health or for the many animals brought to us for homing.
We love and care for these animals until they can find their new home. More details..
Wildlife Care & Release
Our primary wildlife goal is to rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned wildlife, restore them to full health and return them to the wild as functioning members of their wild population. We are the only wildlife rescue centre for the Dublin area and we take in every type of wild Irish animal and birds.
We operate a foster programme for orphaned fledging birds as they need extra special care when they are very young. Read more about Wildlife care in our Animal Care section.
Legislation
After many years of hard work, we brought about the introduction of The Control of Horses Act in 1996. We are currently campaigning for better legislation for all Irish animals - to name but a few - Equine Welfare, Animal Welfare, Breeding legislation, Controlling the importation of exotic pets.
Irish Legislation changes can take many years, and public support is always needed. More details..
Helping People Care for Their Animals
We provide a subsidised clinic for people who cannot afford to visit a private vet. Our mobile clinic currently visits four areas in Dublin. More details..We have a wide range of information on people care for their pets and Irish wildlife on our website and we deal with many phone calls queries from the public each week.
We provide a low cost microchipping service for all animals both from our shelter and our mobile clinic. More details..
Education
The Society currently has one full time Education Officer and a team of Education Outreach Volunteers who are available to give talks to pupils and students about animal welfare and the work of the DSPCA. Tours of the shelter can also be arranged for any group in our purpose built lecture room. This service of FREE of charge.
We also provide information on our website for Teachers and Students to download on Animal Welfare and Animal Care.
We provide work experience opportunities for hundreds of students every year and is one of our most popular programmes. More details..
The Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) is a registered charity, established in 1840 to prevent cruelty to animals and is now Ireland's largest animal welfare organisation. Cruelty, neglect, accidental injury and sickness to animals continues today - and we are still here dealing with these problems.
