01. The 2010 licences that allow coursing to continue
ICABS has obtained copies of the licences that allow coursing to continue for yet another season. The 2010-2011 licences are signed by Gerry Leckey of the National Parks and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Environment Minister, John Gormley.
Also obtained are copies of two additional licences which were granted to Liscannor & Kilflynn coursing clubs which gave permission to both clubs to hold a coursing meeting on a day "not specified in the hares order" (September 25th, 2010)
In an email to the NPWS and Minister Gormley, ICABS strongly objected to the licences.
"It is the role of the NPWS to conserve the Irish Hare, a species whose conservation status remains poor," we stated. "Facilitating a cruel blood sport which causes massive interference to the species, results in injury and death, and threatens local extinctions is undoubtedly contrary to this role."
02. Ask Minister Gormley to revoke coursing licences
The 2010/11 coursing season has begun and thousands of hares are now being rounded up in nets across the country for weekly blood sport events. This latest season of hare abuse was greenlighted despite overwhelming opposition to the activity and fears for the future of the Irish Hare species.
Make your voice heard now. Demand an end to hare coursing in Ireland. Urge Minister Gormley to reflect the wishes of the majority of the electorate and revoke the licences he issued to the Irish Coursing Club.
Urge him to follow the example of Northern Ireland and mainland UK and urgently bring this barbarism to an end.
ACTION ALERT
Urge Minister John Gormley to revoke the coursing licences and put in place permanent protection for the threatened Irish Hare. Send a copy of your correspondence to all of your TDs and encourage them to back a ban on the blood sport.
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie [CC taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie - An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen]
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Luggage company Samsonite has been urged to drop a new “Bullfight” advertisement which shows a matador baiting a bull with a red suitcase. ICABS has expressed disappointment to the company over the ad which features a real matador.
"It is very regrettable that Samsonite finds it appropriate to associate its brand name with the world's most cruel and barbaric blood sport," we stated in an email today. "Many would surely agree that using a bullfighting theme in a marketing campaign is in very poor taste indeed."
We pointed out that matadors, similar to the one depicted in the ad, are responsible for the slow torture to death of thousands of bulls every year. Each bullfight event sees the merciless killing of six or more bulls. Horseback riders firstly weaken the bull by stabbing its body with sharp lances. To force it to drop its head, spears are then driven into its neck muscles. The cruelty culminates with a stabbing through the heart with a sword.
On its website, the design company which produced the ad refers to a "dreamlike environment" being presented to viewers. In reality, ICABS told Samsonite, bullrings and their associated torture represent a nightmare environment filled with cut up flesh, impaled muscle, severe pain, blood loss, terror and death. Describing the presentation as "a dramatic face-off between graceful Matador and majestic bull", they go on to reveal that a real matador (Christian Aparicio) was cast for "authenticity, passion and movement".
See a photo of matador, Christian Aparicio, holding a sword and cape in front of a bleeding, injured bull in a bullring
Samsonite is displaying the matador and bull image on their homepage: See it Here
This offensive image is on display on the Samsonite website's homepage.
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in our appeal to Samsonite to drop the offensive "Bullfight" advert. If the ad would make you avoid purchasing Samsonite products, please point this out in your correspondence.
I am one of the majority of people opposed to bullfighting. This shameful activity causes unimaginable suffering to bulls - they are tortured and persecuted in bullrings, stabbed with lances and spears and killed with a sword through the heart.
I am disgusted that Samsonite has chosen to use a bullfighting theme in its latest advert for the Spinners suitcase. Matadors like the one depicted in the ad are responsible for the slow torture to death of thousands of bulls every year.
Please recognise how inappropriate it is to associate your product with bullfighting and drop this offensive advert immediately.
Thank you. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT
We understand from a report on adweek.com that the Samsonite "Bullfight" ad is due to be screened on CNN Airport Network which comprises 2,000 screens across 46 American airports. Please join us in our appeal to CNN to reject the ad on the grounds that it is likely to cause offence to the majority who oppose bullfighting.
I am one of the majority opposed to bullfighting. I appeal to you not to screen the Samsonite 'Bullfight' commercial which uses a bullfighting theme to promote a suitcase. I find this commercial highly offensive in that it presents a distorted, sanitised view of an activity which is one of the world's worst acts of cruelty to animals. I fear that it may encourage holidaymakers to consider visiting a bullring when they arrive in a bullfighting country. Many unsuspecting tourists who visit bullrings leave shocked and upset at witnessing merciless violence and scenes of animal torture.
I hope CNN Airport Network will consider these points and reject the Samsonite commercial.
Thank you. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
04. Anti-coursing demo a great success
Thank you to everyone who supported the joint ICABS/ARAN protest against hare coursing last Sunday in Edenderry, Co Offaly. The successful demo included a march outside the venue, parallel to the field where hares were being forced to run for their lives from greyhounds.
Protest chants were heard from one end of the coursing field to the other and there was much positive feedback from local motorists who responded enthusiastically to our "Honk if you hate coursing" banner.
We're grateful to all who travelled to Edenderry on the day to join calls for coursing to be banned. Thank you also to those who sent messages of support. We look forward to seeing you all again at the next protest. Please scroll down for a selection of photos/videos as well as some related action alerts.
Slideshow: Anti-coursing demo, Edenderry, Oct 17th 2010
Videos: Anti-coursing demo, Edenderry, Oct 17th 2010
ACTION ALERT
Adverts for those in the following list appear in the booklet for the Edenderry and District Coursing Club meeting. Please join ICABS in our appeal to them to stop associating with coursing. Adverts and sponsorship help keep this blood sport alive. Thank you for your help with this action alert.
Brian J Jones Veterinary Surgeon, Linehall St, Dundalk Tel: 042-933 6894
Ancu Veterinary Hospital, Newry, Tel: 028 3025 2000
Midland Veterinary Edenderry Ltd (Animal care products and feeds) Tel 046 977 2239 Email midlandvet@gmail.com
An Cuan Cistin Cafe, Edenderry - Tel: 046-973 3250 ("10% discount on presenting [coursing] card")
Dermott Hall Menswear, OConnel Square, Edenderry, Tel 046 973 1475. Email: dermotghall@eircom.net O'Tooles Bar and Lounge, Rhode, Co Offaly - Tel: 046 973 7011
Discount Store and Party Shop, Edenderry
O'Donoghue's Bar and Lounge Tel: 046-973 1038 ("Best wishes to Edenderry coursing club")
Mangans Centra, Supermacs [Tel: 046 977 2912] and Pizza Parlour, Dublin Rd, Edenderry
Brian Killeen, Londis Shop and post office, Rhode, Co Offaly Tel: 046 973 7001
Dunphy's Gala Filling Station, Rhode, Co Offaly, Tel 046 973 7916
Larkins Bar Lounge and Bistro, Edenderry Tel 046 973 1594
Pat's Bar, Edenderry Tel 046 973 1813
Hoopers Grocery, Deli and Fuel Merchants Tel 046 973 2247
Finbarr Cullens Bar and Lounge, Tel: 046 973 2102
Asgard Interiors Tel: 087 639 1913
Screenmax Int. Ltd Tel: 087 626 2345
Fratellies Takeaway, Downshire Tel 046 977 2750
Paul Fay Bookmaker "Best wishes to Edenderry coursing club"
Glen Foran Butcher and Deli, Edenderry Tel: 046 977 2892
Lawless Hardware, Edenderry Tel 046 973 1630
Haircut 100 Tel: 046 973 2692
Byrnes Bar and Lounge, Edenderry Tel: 046 973 1405
Doyles Bar and Lounge, Rhode, Co Offaly Tel: 046 973 7029
Gables Guesthouse and Leisure Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare Tel 045-435330 Email gablesguesthse@ireland.com Railway Tyres, Edenderry Tel 085-729 5148
Groomes Butchers "Best wishes to Edenderry Coursing Club" Tel 046-973 211
Sweeneys Filling Station, Spar, Statoil, Edenderry
Dublin Coach (All Age Stake)
Foys Bar Lounge Tel: 046 973 2815
Brady's Spar Supermarket, Edenderry 046 973 1192
Red Mills Greyhound Feed, "Sponsors of the Presentation Sheets" - More info on our appeal to Red Mills
PMB Construction*
* PMB Construction has told ICABS that they would be withdrawing support for the Edenderry coursing meeting and would not support any future events. Click here for more information.
05. SUCCESS: Greenspan move to end coursing support
The Managing Director of Limerick-based Greenspan Products Ltd has assured ICABS that the company will move to end support for coursing. Greenspan was listed as a sponsor in a Glin Coursing Club booklet earlier this month.
In our appeal, we highlighted that coursing is cruel and that a majority want it banned.
"I will ask my people not to support this type of event in the future," responded Greenspan MD, Mike Cregan.
Greenspan has been thanked for this positive response.
06. SUCCESS: Edenderry company disassociates from coursing meeting
ICABS is pleased to pass on the good news that Edenderry-based company, PMB Construction has announced that they would be withdrawing support for the Edenderry coursing meeting and would not support any future events.
This positive response came after an ICABS appeal in which we noted that the company was listed in a coursing report about the Edenderry meeting.
"We will inform the club that PMB Construction do not want to be associated with the club or event," a company spokesperson responded. "We will withdraw our support for this week's event or any future events."
We have thanked the company for their response.
07. Poisoning of foxes and crows now illegal in Ireland
A new law prohibits any unlicensed use of meat, fish, egg or other animal substances as bait to poison birds or animals. According to Minister John Gormley's European Communities (Birds And Natural Habitats)(Restrictions On Use Of Poison Bait) Regulations 2010:
"A person shall not place, cause to be placed or permit to be placed or have with him or her any poisoned or anaesthetic bait that is animal or contains animal substance or other animal derivative in any place to capture, kill, poison, stupefy, anaesthetise, harm or injure or where it is likely to capture, kill, poison, stupefy, anaesthetise, harm or injure (i) any species referred to in Article 1 of the Birds Directive, or (ii) any species of wild fauna listed in Annexes IV(a) and V(a)to the
Habitats Directive, except in accordance with a licence."
If you are aware of any breaches of the regulations, please contact your local National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger immediately - http://www.npws.ie/contactus
It has also been confirmed that there is now no pesticide registered or approved in Ireland that can be used to poison birds or foxes. Therefore any poisoning of foxes and crows is illegal in Ireland.
ICABS has commended Minister Gormley for the regulations.
Revellers 'chipped in Eur50 each' to rent wallaby for party
Outrage over 'horrific act' of animal cruelty Ali Bracken, Crime Correspondent
"Five partygoers attending a 30th birthday party at a Dublin hotel where a wallaby was let loose chipped in Eur50 each to rent the animal, it has been claimed. There was international outrage over the incident after footage emerged showing the distressed animal cruelly being thrown around the room..."
Read the full report at http://www.tribune.ie/article/2010/oct/24/revellers-chipped-in-50-each-to-rent-wallaby-for-p/
09. Award acknowledges Minister Gormley's animal welfare measures
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has presented an award to Environment Minister, John Gormley, for his progressive animal welfare measures. At an animal welfare dinner in Dublin, the Green Party leader was thanked for securing a ban on the Ward Union and for legislation regulating dog breeding establishments.
Aideen Yourell of ICABS presented a Genesis Fine Arts bronze replica of a red deer stag to the Minister at the event to celebrate the banning of the Ward Union carted deer hunt and the passing of legislation to regulate puppy farms.
Top see a photo of the presentation, click on Latest News at www.banbloodsports.com and scroll to Award acknowledges Minister John Gormley's progressive animal welfare measures (07 October 2010)
10. Irish pet food company listed as coursing sponsor
ICABS has complained to Kilkenny-based pet food company, Red Mills, after learning that it was a "sponsor of the presentation sheets" at the Edenderry coursing club meeting. An ad for the company also appeared in the coursing club's booklet.
Those who attended a major protest outside the Edenderry coursing venue on Sunday (including representatives of several animal welfare groups) were disgusted to learn of Red Mills' association with the coursing cruelty within.
In an email to the company this week, ICABS reminded them of an earlier promise in 2006 that "Connolly's Red Mills has very strict policies against associating our brand with such sports [as hare coursing]" and that "it was never our intention to find ourselves directly or indirectly associated with such sports."
Among the products produced by Red Mills are Leader and Winner dog foods and the Super Premium Cat range.
A hare (far left) runs for its life in front of two greyhounds at a coursing meeting in Edenderry.
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging Red Mills to disassociate from coursing. If the company's association with coursing would make you avoid purchasing their products, please point this out in your correspondence.
Mr Michael Connolly
International Business Director
Red Mills
Goresbridge,
Co Kilkenny
Tel: +353-(0)599775800
Fax: +353-(0)599775378
Email: michael.connolly@redmills.ie [CC info@redmills.co.uk]
11. New Facebook page targets animal sales on Donedeal.ie
A new Facebook page entitled "Boycott Donedeal.ie Animal Section" is aiming to persuade the Wexford-based classified ads website to install a pre-moderated system for animal ads.
The creators of the page say they "hope to bring to light the scandalous advertisements for animals on the site donedeal.ie".
One of the offensive Donedeal ads highlighted on the page is for a lurcher dog which is described as a "good hare bitch" which is "working day and night" and working well with terriers. Also flagged are ads for exotic animals, including ones offering wallabies, a racoon and a zebra for sale.
Over the past year, ICABS has continuously appealed to Donedeal to stop advertising dogs used in blood sports. The company assured us that they would prevent ads for such dogs from appearing on its website. However, ads for dogs used in hunting, baiting, digging-out and terrierwork have continued to be displayed.
Please Click Here for more details about our appeals to Donedeal as well as an ongoing action alert. Thank you.
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging Donedeal to act to deny those involved in blood sports the opportunity to use its website as a platform for selling dogs used in attacking and killing wildlife. Ask Donedeal to introduce a screening process for dog adverts to prevent ads from being displayed if they contravene the company's policy or refer to illegal activities.
For more information on our campaign against terrierwork, click on Campaigns at www.banbloodsports.com
12. Renewed appeal to Coillte to protect wildlife
ICABS has renewed its appeal to state-owned forestry company, Coillte, to act to prevent hunters and hounds from persecuting wildlife in its forests. We have also urged the company to stop licensing hunting on its land.
Responding to a request from ICABS for the names of "any hunting clubs (e.g. foxhunts, mink hunts, hare hunts) that currently have permission to hunt in Coillte property", a company spokesperson said that there are a "small number of licence agreements in place with some clubs" but that Coillte is not in a position to disclose the details.
He also stated that many hunt clubs continue to traverse its forests, repeating an earlier company claim that Coillte "do not have control over this activity". ICABS believes that, in the absence of so-called sporting rights, Coillte is in a strong position to prevent such hunts from accessing its property.
In our latest appeal to Coillte to prevents hunters and hounds from terrorising wildlife, we pointed to Section 23 of the Forest Act 1988 (Section 37) Bye Laws 2009 which makes it clear that "A person shall not injure or otherwise interfere with any wildlife on Coillte lands, but nothing in this Bye-law shall affect Bye-law 17." Bye-law 17 refers to firearms and states that "A person shall not bring onto Coillte lands or use any firearm, as defined in section 4 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (No. 12 of 1990), except with the permission of Coillte (a) for competitions approved by Coillte, and b) for practice for such approved competitions."
In a Recreational Hunting page on its website, Coillte describes hunting and stalking as "some of the oldest forms of ‘forest recreation’", adding that "Coillte currently licence a large proportion of its forest estate for the recreational hunting and shooting of wild game, deer and other quarry species, by individuals, clubs / syndicates and commercial shoot operators."
ACTION ALERT
Please urge Coillte to make its forests off limits to hunters and give protection to the resident wildlife.
David Gunning
CEO
Coillte
The Irish Forestry Board
Newtownmountkennedy
Co. Wicklow
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter.)
13. Ward Union hunt fixture list issued despite ban
Stag hunt fixture list issued despite ban
by Sean Mac Connell Agriculture Correspondent Irish Times, Oct 14, 2010
The Ward Union Hunt has issued a list of hunt fixtures for the coming season despite the recently introduced ban on hunting stags.
Animal rights activists have forwarded details of the events to gardai asking them to prosecute any breaches of the new law.
Confirming that the list had been sent out, Ronan Griffin, the hunt's spokesman, said a legal team was looking at the legislation and it would take advantage of any loophole it could find to ensure the survival of Ireland's only stag hunt, which was set up in 1884.
"What I can say if we are doing anything we will only act within the law as we have always done.
"We have no intention to break the law but we want the hunt to continue," he said.
Bernie Wright of the Association of Hunt Saboteurs Ireland, claimed she had learned from sources in the hunt that it was planning to hunt stags again and she was seeking a Garda investigation.
"My people tell me they have a plan to fit stags with electronic tracking collars so they can lay down a drag [artificial scent] trail to where the pack would "accidentally" come across a stag and hunt it," she said.
Ms Wright claimed the hunt was also looking at a possible loophole in the legislation which could allow the hunt to follow one single hound rather than a pack which was specified in the legislation.
Mr Griffin said the fixture list had been sent out to put farmers and members on notice of the hunting season and meetings as it had been doing since the hunt was set up.
He added that the hunt had no plans to arrange drag hunting of stags.
Asked if the hunt planned to or had put electronic tracking equipment on stag, he repeated that anything the hunt would do would be within the law.
Asked about hunting the stag with a single dog rather than a pack, he again repeated anything the hunt would do, "if anything, would be within the law".
If the hunt is found to be in breach of the law it could face fines from Eur500 to Eur1,000 for a first offence, from Eur 1,000 to Eur2,000 for a second offence, and from Eur1,500 to Eur5,000 for a third or subsequent offence.
The maximum fine for conviction on indictment was increased to Eur100,000 in the controversial legislation driven by the Green Party and passed by one vote in the Dail last June.
The hunt fixture list shows hunts listed for Clogherstown Cross, Garristown and the Naul, in Co Dublin running right up to a pre-Christmas meeting at Cabragh Lodge on December 22nd.
It will also hold an open day on October 23rd between 2-5 pm at the hunt kennels at Greenpark for farmers, families and friends of the hunt.
14. We won't reverse staghunt ban - Labour Leader
Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, has announced that if his party gets into government after the next election, they will not reverse the ban on staghunting.
Speaking on the Marian Finucane radio show on October 2nd, Mr Gilmore stated that the party "won't reverse the decision" and that they "will stick with the ban on staghunting".
Mr Gilmore was one of the majority of Labour Party TDs who voted against the ban in June. It finally passed by a majority of 75 votes to 71, thus banning the cruel Ward Union deer hunt.
ICABS welcomes this confirmation that, unlike Fine Gael, the Labour Party will not try to reverse the ban. We are calling on the party to give a commitment that if they get into government, they will ban hare coursing and foxhunting.
Over the years, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports has recorded clergy involvement in the blood sports of foxhunting and hare coursing. We have highlighted the priests who have gone hunting, blessed foxhounds at the start of hunts, cheered on greyhounds as they chased terrified hares and even presented awards to coursers at the end of blood sport meetings. While these individuals are very much in the minority, we find it unacceptable that any Church representative would associate with activities involving animal cruelty.
Causing an animal to suffer or die needlessly is contrary to the Catholic Catechism and that is why we continue to lobby Church authorities. Please support our action alert to the President of the Irish Bishops Conference to act to end clergy involvement in blood sports.
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging the President of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference to act to end clergy involvement in blood sports.
Cardinal Sean Brady
Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
President, Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference
Ara Coeli, Armagh BT61 7QY
Email: admin@aracoeli.com Tel: +44 (0)28 3752 2045
Fax: +44 (0)28 3752 6182
Please note: When calling from the Republic of Ireland there is a direct code 048 before the local number
Send a copy of your correspondence to the Papal Nuncio
16. Irish Times highlights anti-hunt farmers protest
Farmers protest against fox-hunting Irish Times, Oct 13, 2010
Farmers will be represented at a protest against foxhunting outside the Department of Agriculture today, where they will call upon the Government to introduce a total ban on the activity.
The Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass group said they wanted to voice their "continued objections to the destructive impact of this activity on the property and livelihoods of farmers nationwide".
It said it supported Minister for the Environment John Gormley in his decision to ban stag hunting and it urged the Government to include a total ban on foxhunting in the new Animal Health and Welfare Bill, which is due before the Dail shortly.
"We maintain that foxhunters seek to keep themselves in business...and land...at someone else's expense- namely the farmer," the group said. "The hunts demand and expect that farmers should supply free of charge to them the most expensive part of their destructive pastime."
It said the "so-called hunting fraternity" was composed of "vandals, law-breakers, and serial trespassers".
"Foxhunters have no respect for farmers...for their land, crops, or livelihoods. They have trampled on our rights, land, and on the dignity of farmers, for decades."
The organisation said if hunters obstructed a street or gateway in a city or a large town in pursuit of their pastime, they would be clamped or face fines. "Yet they break every law in the book across the length and breadth of rural Ireland."
It said no farmer wished to have his land poached, his fences knocked down and destroyed, and barbed wire cut.
Hunting also resulted in crops being trampled, livestock "terrified and injured" and created the risk of a spread of disease. In addition, farmers were "ridiculed and abused" by members of hunts on farms and country roads.
It said the "vast majority" of farmers did not want hunts on their land. "We want our constitutional rights as landowners and farmers respected and implemented by law."
The group said that if hunters switched to drag hunting, the farmers' protest would end. Drag hunting avoided trespass on other farms and confined hunters to farms where they were allowed to hunt by written consent along a pre-determined route.
Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister, Michelle Gildernew, has confirmed that she will not be taking any steps to try and block a coursing ban in that jurisdiction. Her statement contradicts an earlier claim by Kerry North Sinn Fein TD, Martin Ferris, that his party would be attempting to overturn the decision to ban coursing through a bill being drafted by Ms Gildernew's Department.
Responding to a question tabled by the DUP's Jim Wells, Minister Gildernew (Sinn Fein, Fermanagh/South Tyrone) stated: "Responsibility for hunting or coursing with dogs does not rest with my Department and as such I have no powers to regulate or ban hunting or coursing. I will not therefore be taking any action that could negate the provisions on a ban on hare coursing as contained in the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill."
In June this year the Northern Ireland Assembly voted to make hare coursing illegal under the new Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill. Martin Ferris later claimed that his party would try to block this.
In a statement, the League Against Cruel Sports commented: "It was unclear how Mr Ferris proposed to overturn this through a different Bill being drafted by a different department but Minister for Agriculture, Michelle Gildernew has now confirmed this is not the case."
"The Assembly's historic decision to ban hare coursing was a huge step forward in eradicating cruel blood sports," stated the League's Northern Ireland campaigner Mary Friel. "While we were fairly certain this latest attempt to overturn it had no substance, it is encouraging to have this clarified by the Minister."
Sources of information: www.league.org.uk and www.niassembly.gov.uk
18. New animal and marine life stamps
An Post has launched a new set of stamps entitled "Irish Animals and Marine Life"
Issued on 8th September, the eight stamps illustrate Ireland's biodiversity from the seabed to the mountain top.
An Post says that in the coming years, approximately 50 stamps will be issued "portraying the incredible variety of animal and marine life native to Ireland".
Look out for the stamps in your local post office or see them online at
http://www.irishstamps.ie/Shop/c-68-irish-animals-and-marine-life.aspx
19. Ask Abu Dhabi to reject bullfighting
[Source of information: CAS International www.cas-international.org]
Unconfirmed reports in the Spanish media have claimed that there may be plans to try and introduce bullfighting to Abu Dhabi. Please join us in contacting the authorities there to encourage them to strongly reject this cruel activity.
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter.)
Dear Sir/madam,
Unconfirmed reports in the Spanish media point to possible plans to try and introduce bullfighting to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is claimed that Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan travelled to Spain to speak to a bullfighting promoter and that several bullfighters are interested in performing in Abu Dhabi. The reports suggest that bullfights are scheduled to take place on 20-24 November 2010.
I am writing to express my opposition to bullfighting and to kindly urge you to block any initiative to introduce this cruel, barbaric spectacle to the United Arab Emirates.
For more information about the cruelty of bullfighting, please visit
www.cas-international.org/en/home/suffering-of-bulls-and-horses/bullfighting/corridas-de-toros
Thank you very much.
With best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
Animal Voice Action Alerts: Please download and distribute
Download and distribute copies of Animal Voice Action Alerts 2010. Featuring a roundup of
all the year's action alerts, the newsletter can be downloaded as a pdf or viewed by clicking at newsletters at www.banbloodsports.com
We would be grateful if you could photocopy the newsletter and place copies in your local
library, veterinary surgeon's waiting room, animal welfare stands, etc and distribute among
your friends and family. Thank you.
20. Garda Chief Slams Sulky Racing
Garda Chief Slams Sulky Racing
Tipperary Star - 07 October 2010 By James Hayden
Templemore based Garda Superintendent, Pat O'Connor has hit out at sulky racing, describing it as cruelty to animals. Supt. O'Connor made his comments at a meeting of the Templemore joint policing committee in the Garda College on Monday evening last.
"To me sulky racing is cruelty to animals. Primarily, it involves a young horse a little over 12 months old," he said, adding that there were high-betting stakes involved for the owners of a fast horse.
He explained that more often than not life of a sulky horse is cut short when their hock joint gives way after trotting at high speed on hard road surfaces and added that the people involved in the sport quantify safety requirements by travelling behind a sulky in a van with the warning lights flashing.
"They are travelling behind a van with lights flashing but in reality they are clocking the speed of the horse," he said. It is a very difficult case to prosecute and the right thing to do is video the offence from a patrol car," Supt. O'Connor added.
We belately highlight the following article which appeared in the 1st August 2009 edition of the Tipperary Star...
"Cashel Coursing Club was fined E150 at a sitting of Cashel District Court after it was found to have had a number of hares at an event on August 28th last year. Judge Terence Finn heard that on that date, the club, with an address at Johnstown, Ardfinnan, was visited by an official who observed up to 10 hares fenced off in an enclosed area. The club secretary was interviewed and it was found that the club did not have the appropriate documentation for the animals...The incident occurred while the Cashel Coursing Club was waiting for a permit from the ICC to come into effect, the Court heard. The Club was fined E150, and ordered to pay legal costs of E300." from Cashel Coursing Club Fined, By Staff Reporter
22. Landowners: Help save the Irish Hare
With a licence from Minister John Gormley, Ireland's coursers are currently netting hares
for their cruel blood sport and will continue to do so over the coming months. The Irish
Council Against Blood Sports is calling on landowners to act to keep coursers out and save
hares from the cruelty of coursing.
If you are a landowner, please download, laminate and display copies of our poster - "Hare
Sanctuary - No Coursing, No Netting, No Hunting". Please note that the licence does not give
coursers the right to enter land without permission; if a trespass occurs on your land,
please contact the Gardai immediately. the contact details for garda stations can be found
on www.garda.ie
Please visit our new action alerts page for quick and easy access to all the latest ICABS
action alerts. Click on the red action alerts banner on our homepage -
www.banbloodsports.com - to access them now! Thank you.
23. Letters to Editors: October 2010
Ward Union must leave deer alone Irish Independent, October 16, 2010
It seems that there is to be no respite for the Ward Union red deer, even though hunting them with a pack of dogs has now been outlawed. The hunt's new plan (Irish Independent, October 15) is to take out a deer, have it "roam" around the countryside for up four hours, capture it, then take out the dogs to follow the scent it left behind.
Taking a deer out and forcing it -- by whatever means -- to roam in the countryside in unfamiliar terrain for many hours, is frightening and stressful for the animal, which normally resides in a paddock with a herd. No doubt the hunt will want it to leave its scent over a wide range, so that they can have a good run with their horses and dogs.
So how does the Ward Union propose to make the deer do its bidding? Will huntsmen follow behind on foot and scare it into moving along? Then there's the capture, which is cruel in itself, with hunt followers literally wrestling the terrified animal to the ground.
It would be more practical and humane for the Ward Union to switch to drag hunting and leave the deer in peace.
Aideen Yourell,
Spokeswoman, Irish Council Against Blood Sports
We must rally to defence of the corncrake and hare Irish Examiner, October 11, 2010
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) deserves credit for its dedication to conserving the corncrake.
The cost of the project might seem exorbitant at around Eur400,000 spent last year, but this has to be set against the implications of losing a much-loved bird that is a prized part of our culture and ecosystem.
In times past, the distinctive and then familiar call of the corncrake heralded the arrival of summer. The bird was for generations a welcome dweller in hay meadows nationwide.
Now just 133 of these cherished avian singers remain to grace our natural environment.
Shortage of cover due to intensive farming is the main threat to its survival, but I fear a cynical attitude to wildlife conservation grounded in ignorance may hasten its demise. Public awareness campaigns are essential to promote an understanding and appreciation of our wildlife heritage.
Another native species that is threatened, though not as severely as the corncrake, is the Irish Hare. It is in full retreat from modern agriculture, especially the monocultural swathes of grass and cereals that decimate its habitat.
Once growth falls below a height of about 25 to 30 centimetres it is of no use to the hare. This level of cover represents a virtual desert to the animal. And the wholesale removal or destruction of hedges adds to its predicament.
Coupled with this challenge, the species faces the annual netting of around 7,000 hares for coursing.
The problem is not the number of hares killed outright at coursing events, but the effects of capture myopathy, a stress-related condition to which a number of wild mammal species, including hares, are susceptible.
Hares may die at any stage of their ordeal, from the moment they are snatched from their natural habitats and held captive for weeks, right up to the day they are subjected to the terror of live baiting in the parks, or after the coursing events, when the animals (excluding those killed or visibly injured by the greyhounds) are released back into the wild. The NPWS concedes that the species is under pressure. In its submission to the Convention on Biological Diversity last May, it declared that the Irish Hare is "experiencing pressure from loss of suitable habitat and consequently its status is considered poor".
Another NPWS document stresses the need to ascertain the "reproductive viability of hares post-coursing and the impact on local population demographics of hare removal and return".
Now is the time to put in place a comprehensive scheme for the protection of the Irish Hare. The cooperation of farmers and other landowners would need to be enlisted to restrict activities that lead to erosion or destruction of habitat.
A ban on hare coursing would cost nothing to the exchequer.
If we fail to address the plight of the Irish Hare, this iconic creature some day could become as rare a sight in our countryside as the treasured corncrake.
John Fitzgerald
Lr Coyne Street, Callan, Co Kilkenny
24. Campaign Quotes: October 2010
"But the tide of international opinion appears to be running strongly against bloodsports. Catalonia's regional parliament banned bullfighting this summer. In June, Northern Ireland outlawed hare coursing and the Irish Republic banned the hunting of stags with hounds." From Foxhunting ban likely to remain thanks to new generation of Tory MPs, Guardian.co.uk, 28 October 2010.
"Yet again more great action for the animals in Ireland this week! On Sunday campaigners and supporters from ARAN and ICABS gathered in Edenderry, Co Offaly to stage a lively, peaceful demonstration directly outside the gates, trees, wire fencing and plastic sheeting that covered the entire field which was used for hare coursing over the weekend." From the Animal Rights Action Network website www.aran.ie
"Fr Theobold Mathew [born 1790] was kind and caring. At a local coursing meeting he witnessed with horror and compassion the agony of a poor hunted hare in her breathless struggles with the fierce dogs." from an article about Fr Mathew by Jim Corley, http://www.blessington.info/history/historypage12.htm
"Permission was finally granted to begin the [coursing] season a day early, on Saturday 25th
September [2010]." from the website of Macroom Coursing Club
"Best wishes from John Sheehan, Local County Councillor, Mobile: 087-2079268." From an advert in a Glin Coursing Meeting booklet, October 2010.
"As part of 'World Go Vegan Week' NARA will be having a special information stall on Saturday 30th October at Westmoreland Street/College Green, Dublin 2 (at the railings beside the Bank of Ireland). Joining our display of leaflets and factsheets will be a selection of FREE, freshly-baked, vegan cakes and treats!" From the website of National Animal Rights Association www.nara.ie
"A South African community group wants US rap star 50 Cent to become the "godfather" to a rhino who survived a poaching attack after being shot nine times, just like the platinum-selling artist. The black rhino named Phila survived two poaching attacks this year, despite being shot a total of nine times, community policing group eBlockwatch told South Africa's The Sunday Times. 50 Cent, most famous for hits like "In Da Club" and "Candy Shop", was also shot nine times as he left drug-dealing on the streets of New York to begin his music career." Yahoo News, October 10, 2010
"I will no longer be buying Red Mills food for my dogs...that's one customer they lost. Any more???" A comment left on the ICABS Facebook page in response to a story highlighting Red Mills's sponsorship of coursing. 22nd October 2010
[Source: International Movement Against Bullfights www.iwab.org]
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is again joining groups across Europe in condemning one of Spain's most horrendous events. The Toro Jubilo or "Bull on Fire" involves setting the horns of bulls alight. Such is the suffering that some creatures attempt to commit suicide.
Maria Lopes of the International Movement Against Bullfights describes what's set to take place at Medinaceli city on November 13th: "This particular savagery involves putting a kind of ball of pitch on both the horns of the bulls and setting fire to the balls. The bulls are released on the streets. The fire balls burn for hours, burning the horns, body and eyes, causing terrible suffering."
In the past, she adds, bulls have tried to "kill themselves against walls, due to the horrible pain".
Please send protest letters to:
City Hall of Medinaceli
Plaza del Ayuntamiento,1
42240 Medinaceli
Soria, Spain
Fax + 34 975326053
President of la Diputacion Prov. Soria
C/ Caballeros, 17 Soria
SORIA 42071
Tel: +34 975 211089
Fax: +34 975 101091
presidencia@dipsoria.es
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Simply keeping your ear to the ground.
about any blood-sport related incidents in your area.
Please make a donation to ICABS
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports relies entirely on your generosity to continue our campaigning for an end to blood sport cruelty. Please become a supporter of our work today - click on Shop at www.banbloodsports.com for more details or send a cheque to ICABS, PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. Thank you very much.
Keep hunters off your land
Make it known publicly that your land is off-limits to hunters. Place a preservation notice in your local newspaper now. Here is a sample notice that you may wish to use: "Take notice that all my lands at [Insert address(es) of land] are private and preserved day and night. All forms of hunting and shooting are strictly prohibited. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Signed [Insert name(s) of landowner]" For more information, click on Farmers at www.banbloodsports.com
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