THE UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK (UL) has initiated its own inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of a dog which was allegedly lured to its death in a road traffic accident by some of its students.
The university said any act of cruelty to animals would lead to disciplinary procedures being taken against students under its code of conduct.
The inquiry follows a report in the Limerick Leader newspaper that some students had deliberately enticed a local dog into a dangerous situation by throwing a ball over and back across a road in the College Court Drive area of Castletroy, near the university.
A letter-writer to the paper said the students had deliberately thrown the ball – which the dog had been chasing as it was tossed over and back – in front of a van, causing the dog to be run over and killed.
“As the dog lay dying in agony, the students laughed and jeered at my brother-in-law as he roared and scolded them,” the letter-writer claimed.
UL said it had now asked the Garda authorities to investigate the incident, and had asked to be kept abreast of any student involvement in the incident.
In a statement posted to its Facebook page, it also said it had written to the letter-writer asking her to make contact so that the full extent of the incident could be ascertained.
It also said its “comprehensive and robust system” to investigate alleged breaches of its its student code, and possible penalties included “fines, suspension and, in serious cases, dismissal from the University”.
“We have already encouraged any individual with information relating to this incident to report this in the first instance to the Gardaí and where student involvement is suspected to notify the University for further investigation,” it said.
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