Three dead dogs with gunshot wounds were discovered dumped in a ditch of a bog in Coole, Co. Westmeath, by a local passerby.
The bodies were found on private property belonging to Bord na Móna by local Phillip Dempsey, who told Agriland that the dogs seemed to have been shot in the head.
He claimed they had been dumped in plain sight by an individual who "didn't even attempt to hide what he or she had done".
The bodies of the dogs, which appeared to Dempsey as "well-fed, young and healthy," were moved and disposed of by Westmeath County Council.
Dempsey had contacted the ISPCA about the matter, who informed him that as the dogs had not been microchipped, there was not enough evidence to build a garda case around the incident.
The gruesome discovery was raised by Sinn Féin Senator, Chris Andrews in the Seanad on April 2, who cited the incident as an example of the government's "lamentable" attitude towards animal welfare.
Senator Chris Andrews said: "I'd like to raise the issue of animal welfare, dog welfare. Last week, three dogs were shot and dumped in a bog in Westmeath. This government's attitude to dog welfare, and animal welfare generally, is lamentable."
According to Andrews, 7,510 dogs entered Irish pounds in 2023, which represents an increase of 80% on the equivalent numbers in 2021.
He called on the government to overhaul the "weak" dog welfare laws in place in Ireland, which he believes has contributed to this "epidemic of dog abandonment".
"To make it worse and to compound everything, the enforcement of those laws is particularly ineffective. Under the law, it is an offence to abandon a dog but, in practice, there is no deterrent to anyone abandoning a dog," he told the Seanad.
He emphasised the need for greater fiscal investment in pounds and rescues to combat the rise in illegal dumping as well as a greater enforcements relating to dog microchipping, which he believes will help prosecute the culprits involved.
He went on to stress the need for a crackdown on puppy farms.
"Whether the government wants to admit it or not, Ireland is the puppy farm capital of Europe," he said.