The Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, has unveiled new legislation on animal welfare which will come into effect today. According to RTE News, the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 includes provisions for increased power for authorised officers to investigate complaints of animal cruelty and stricter penalties on convictions. The new penalties will include powers for the judge to ban a person from owning an animal and a maximum five-year-sentence. The legislation allows officers from animal welfare groups to investigate complaints in private homes and impose on-the-spot fines. It is now a criminal offence to attend a dog fight. Speaking about the legislation on RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr. Coveney commented: "This allows both the guards and our vets, and indeed authorised officers that are trained from welfare organisations, to intervene, to fine people potentially, to take cases to court. "We now have given significantly more powers to judges, who can for example ban somebody from owning an animal in the future if they deem them unsuitable." The Department of Agriculture has a hotline if you would like to report any instances of animal cruelty. The number is 1850 211 990.