![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_267277489-9b31-e1758578366610.jpg\")
\n\t\tCocker spaniel Bailey (Picture: Causeway Coast Dog Rescue)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tCocker spaniel Bailey (Picture: Causeway Coast Dog Rescue)<\/p>\n
A cocker spaniel named Bailey has been \u2018freed\u2019 from a jail in Northern Ireland<\/a> after concerns were raised over its welfare.<\/p>\n Bailey was introduced into Magilligan Prison in County Londonderry through a scheme offering comfort dogs for prisoners.<\/p>\n But insiders said the three-and-a-half-year-old dog was being held in Block H2, said to house the most violent inmates, including sex offenders, as first reported by Sunday World<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prison officers alleged Bailey had been limping and \u2018quivering\u2019 at night because of the prison alarms, shouting and fights. <\/p>\n News about Bailey\u2019s condition sparked campaigns such as #ProtectBailey and #AllDogsMatter as people lobbied the Department of Justice (DoJ) to relocate the former family pet.<\/p>\n Volunteers and staff at Causeway Coast Dog Rescue held peaceful protests outside the prison today.<\/p>\n \t\t Causeway Coast Dog Rescue, a charity organising the protest, said this morning that members had \u2018unofficially\u2019 heard Bailey has been released. <\/p>\n It added: \u2018But only \u201ctemporarily\u201d, with no formal confirmation of where he is, how he is, or what the long-term plan is for his welfare and for other dogs used in NI Prisons.\u2019<\/p>\n The charity previously said that Bailey was sourced informally, spent 24 hours a day in the jail rather than do \u2018shifts\u2019 and wasn\u2019t trained to be a therapy dog.<\/p>\n Jon Burrows, a UUP representative for North Antrim, confirmed to the Belfast Telegraph<\/a> that the dog had been relocated to a \u2018family home\u2019.<\/p>\n He added: \u2018This has been a disgraceful episode from start to finish.\u2019<\/p>\n In a statement, a Prison Service spokesperson said Bailey was safe and cared for at the prison.<\/p>\n \t\t They added: \u2018A 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.\u2019<\/p>\n Prison environments dogs they added, are beneficial for people with poor mental health<\/a> and addiction issues, as researchers <\/a>have found.<\/p>\n The statement said: \u2018The 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.\u2019<\/p>\n Campaigns to free Bailey and initial reports about his welfare were met with fierce criticism from the DoJ, the government<\/a> department responsible for policy and legislative framework.<\/p>\n Bailey also caught the attention of Northern Irish politician John Burrows, who sent a letter this week to the assembly calling for his release.<\/p>\n In his letter<\/a>, the MLA outlined his concerns for Bailey, including being without a primary handler or master, prison staff receiving little to no specialist dog handling training, and a place for Bailey to recuperate.<\/p>\n \u2018The core of my concern is the apparent lack of a robust legislative and policy framework, along with necessary safeguards, for the place of a dog in a high-risk prison environment,\u2019 Burrows wrote.<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_267277399-c91e.jpg\")
\n\t\tA peaceful protest took place outside Magilligan Prison (Picture: Causeway Coast Dog Rescue)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/SEI_267278007-1ad3.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe front of Magilligan Prison, a medium security prison in Northern Ireland (Picture: Shutterstock \/ Mick Harper)<\/p>\n
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