Causeway Coast Dog Rescue
Bailey has been used as a support dog in Magilligan Prison
A dog at Magilligan Prison in County Londonderry has been removed due to a “callous and calculated threat”, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has said.
It said Bailey, a three-and-half-year-old spaniel, had been used as a “support dog” to help rehabilitate inmates.
However, concerns have been raised about his use in the prison by politicians and animal charities.
The Prison Service said he was “safe, happy and well looked after”.
The service has described Bailey as a “support dog,” but Ulster Unionist assembly member Jon Burrows said he understood he was a pet, who had been put into a prison environment without any specific training.
Causeway Coast Dog Rescue said the dog had been acquired from a family who could no longer look after him earlier this year and used in the prison without any previous training.
A protest about Bailey’s welfare took place outside the prison on Monday.
In a statement, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “A perfectly happy and well looked after dog at Magilligan Prison has had to be moved after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) made us aware of a callous and calculated external threat to say that Bailey was going to be harmed in an attempt to embarrass the governor.”
They said the welfare of Bailey has always been and “will always be the service’s priority”.
“He was safe and cared for when he was living at Magilligan, he is safe and being cared for now,” the spokesperson said.
‘Straight from a family home’
The charity Causeway Coast Dog Rescue had campaigned to have Bailey removed from the prison.
On Monday the group’s Tara Cunningham told BBC News NI that Bailey had gone “straight from a family home whose circumstances meant they could no longer keep him” and he went straight to the prison.
“We want confirmation that Bailey has been withdrawn from this project permanently,” she said.
She said the charity wanted to see a proposal for Bailey’s long-term care.
“We want to understand what safeguards are going to be reviewed and put in place for all dogs in prisons in Northern Ireland,” she added.
The group also issued a statement on behalf of Bailey’s previous owner, who said that their “first and overriding concern is Bailey, his immediate welfare and his long-term future”.
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Jon Burrows said the dog could be brought in under supervision but then go home
Burrows said he had raised concerns about the situation.
“I’ve written to the justice minister who has confirmed that he had no trained master and that he didn’t go home to a home,” Mr Burrows told Radio Ulster.
“Prison officers told me directly that when the sirens went off when there was a self-harm incident, when the sirens went off because there was a fight on the wing, the dog was quivering.”
He also said the dog was unable to sleep.
“If it’s there to come in to help with some issues of anxiety, with therapy, then bring it in with an owner, let it be stroked, let it have engagement under constant supervision and then let it go home to a family home.”
‘Inaccurate reporting’
In the statement, the Prison Service said: “The benefits of dogs providing emotional support is widely recognised.
“In prison environments dogs can offer support to people with poor mental health and addiction issues, help promote positive changes in behaviour and reduce stress and anxiety.”
It added: “Dogs are utilised in prisons across these islands for this purpose and have been supporting prisoners in Northern Ireland for over 20 years.
“The current challenges facing the Prison Service are well documented and this issue and the level of inaccurate and sensationalist reporting surrounding it has unfortunately been an unnecessary distraction.”
