All over Ireland, horses are often tethered on roadsides, common areas, council lands and housing estates and it limits a horse's natural behaviour and freedom of movement. Tethering can cause horrific injuries when horses become entangled in ropes or tethers, some are left with ropes cutting into them and many are left with no shelter or access to water. It is not an acceptable way to keep an animal but is in itself not a criminal offence.

Numerous animal charities have had to deal with the fallout of the practice of tethering and can attest to the number of tethered horses which they have had to shoulder the vets bills for due to rope injuries, dehydration and neglect. Many others are not so lucky and have to be put down due to the extent of their injuries.

The government and Department of Agriculture are not doing near enough to combat the animal welfare issues in Ireland but criminalising tethering is a step in the right direction towards making it harder to keep animals in unsuitable, dangerous conditions and prompt a shift towards making it harder for anyone who does not have the appropriate conditions to look after horses to keep them.