Eight dogs worth around €5,000 have been seized in County Tipperary.

Gardaí found the dogs after stopping a van at a speed check on the M8 motorway near Thurles just before 8pm yesterday.

Investigators heard the lurchers, beagles and a border terrier barking in the back of the van and confiscated them when the driver and passenger could not say who owned them.

dogs seized by Gardaí in Tipperary, 04-06-2020. Image: An Garda Síochána

The dogs were not micro-chipped and Gardaí say they are worth around €5,000.

They have been taken to a local animal shelter.

The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.

Dogs seized by Gardaí in Tipperary, 04-06-2020. Image: An Garda Síochána