MP raises auestions over response to residents’ concerns after two dogs found dead in property

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart

Serious questions are being raised over whether opportunities to intervene were missed before two dogs were found dead inside a property in Lurgan.

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has secured an urgent meeting involving police, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and Arbour Housing after saying local residents had raised concerns about the Sloanhill Court property before the animals were discovered.

A 47-year-old man has been arrested following the incident, according to Ms Lockhart, who stressed that the police investigation must now be allowed to take its course.

But the MP says the arrest does not answer wider questions about what different agencies knew, when concerns were reported and what action followed.

Residents had raised concerns

Ms Lockhart described the deaths as an “absolutely sickening and horrific case” and said she had spoken directly with residents.

She said:

“Two dogs were abandoned inside a property at Sloanhill Court and have now been found deceased. Reports that the dogs were discovered locked in crates, with signs they had desperately tried to escape, make this tragedy all the more harrowing.

“I welcome the swift action taken by the PSNI, with a 47-year-old man arrested following this incident. The police investigation must now be allowed to take its course. It crucial that anyone found responsible for animal cruelty or neglect must be held fully accountable.

“However, an arrest does not remove the very serious wider questions which remain unanswered.”

According to the Upper Bann MP, neighbours had noticed large numbers of flies coming from the property and feared dogs had been left inside.

“Local residents had been raising concerns,” she said.

“They noticed large numbers of flies coming from the property and feared that dogs had been left inside. Tragically, those fears were justified.”

MP wants timeline of what agencies knew

Ms Lockhart said the PSNI, council and Arbour Housing had been aware of issues surrounding the property and that she now wants each organisation’s involvement established.

“The PSNI, Council and Arbour Housing were all aware of issues surrounding this property. I have therefore sought, and secured, an urgent multi-agency meeting to establish exactly what happened.

“I want a clear timeline. Who knew what? When did they know it? What concerns were raised, with whom, and crucially, what action was taken?”

The precise nature and timing of any reports made to the individual organisations, and the actions subsequently taken, have not been detailed in the information released by the MP.

Those questions are expected to form a central part of the multi-agency meeting.

Could intervention have come sooner?

Ms Lockhart said neighbours were entitled to know whether earlier action might have changed the outcome.

“Neighbours have every right to ask whether more could have been done and if the two dogs could have been saved.

“It is simply not acceptable that multiple concerns were raised, yet two animals are found dead in an unattended property.

“I have spoken with residents, written to the relevant agencies and will use this multi-agency meeting to press for the full facts. Public concerns must never be ignored or allowed to fall between different agencies.”

The circumstances surrounding the deaths remain subject to a police investigation. The arrest of an individual does not establish guilt, and any allegation of animal cruelty or neglect would have to be established through the appropriate investigative and legal processes.

‘Failures’ must be identified if established

Ms Lockhart said the meeting must examine potential gaps between the agencies without interfering with the ongoing police investigation.

“This police investigation must take its course, but the wider issue of accountability cannot be forgotten. If there were failures in communication, failures to act or failures to respond to concerns, then those responsible must be identified and lessons must be learned.

“Two dogs suffered and died in unimaginable circumstances. We owe it to these defenceless animals, and to the residents who repeatedly raised the alarm, to uncover why intervention did not come before it was too late.”

She added: “Someone has to be held responsible. I will continue pressing every agency involved until the full truth of how this was allowed to happen is established.”

The forthcoming meeting is expected to give the PSNI, council and Arbour Housing an opportunity to set out their respective involvement and response to concerns surrounding the property, while respecting the live police investigation.

For residents who say they raised the alarm, the key question now is whether the full timeline shows that more could reasonably have been done before the dogs were found dead — or whether the agencies involved can demonstrate that appropriate action was taken on the information available to them.