01. Double demo in Dublin to demand end to cruel coursing and bullfighting
This Thursday, August 6th, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports will stage two demonstrations in Dublin City.
The first one, at 12 midday, will be outside the Department of Arts & Heritage, 23 Kildare Street, to appeal to Arts & Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys to reject a licence application for a 2015-16 hare coursing licence.
The licence would allow coursers to again net thousands of hares from the wild for use as live bait for greyhounds at coursing meetings around the country. Last season, hares continued to suffer and die during coursing meetings - as highlighted in the ICABS "Coursing Cruelty Catalogue" report. A decision on the latest licence application is expected in the coming weeks. We need to send a strong message to Minister Humphreys that the Irish hare - a so-called protected species - should be allowed to live free from persecution.
Later at 3pm, we will assemble outside the Spanish Tourism Office at 1-3 Westmoreland Street, Dublin City. We will protest against the tourism body's promotion of bullfighting to Irish holidaymakers going to Spain. On the Ireland page of the Spanish Government's Spain.info website, tourists are urged to "Come to Spain and discover the world of bullfighting - you are sure to have fun." Earlier this month, the Spanish Tourism Office held an event at the Morgan Hotel, Dublin, promoting the bullrunning at Pamplona.
We want to send a clear message to the Spanish Tourism office that Ireland says NO to bullfighting. Our presence on Westmoreland Street will highlight the cruelty of bullfighting and hopefully encourage people travelling to Spain to boycott the bullrings.
If you are free on the day, please join us for one or both of these demos. Placards and banners will be available.
DEMO DETAILS
Demo 1
Date: THURSDAY, August 6th 2015
Time: 12 midday
Location: Department of Arts & Heritage, 23 Kildare Street, Dublin
Demo 2
Date: THURSDAY, August 6th 2015
Time: 3pm
Location: Spanish Tourism Office, 1-3 Westmoreland Street, Dublin (to the right of the Bank of Ireland building's railings)
02. Refuse a 2015-16 coursing licence: Contact Minister Humphreys now
It has been confirmed that coursers have applied for a licence for another season of hare coursing cruelty. Please join us in urging Minister Heather Humphreys to act on the wishes of the majority who want coursing banned and reject the licence application.
ACTION ALERTS
Express your support for a ban on coursing. Sign and share petitions
Ban horrific hare coursing cruelty in Ireland https://www.change.org/petitions/taoiseach-prime-minister-of-ireland-support-a-bill-to-ban-the-cruel-practise-of-live-hare-coursing-in-ireland
Urge Minister Heather Humphreys to show compassion for the persecuted Irish Hare and stop licensing cruel coursing.
Email "Stop the cruelty. Refuse a 2015-16 hare coursing licence" to Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie [Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie,ministers.office@ahg.gov.ie,taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie,joan.burton@oireachtas.ie,wildlifelicence@ahg.gov.ie,Gerry.Leckey@ahg.gov.ie]
Tel: (01) 631 3802 or (01) 631 3800
Leave a comment on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/heather.humphreysfg
Tweet to Heather Humphreys: @HHumphreysFG Tweet to @HHumphreysFG
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the short sample letter below.)
Dear Minister,
I am one of the majority who want hare coursing outlawed in Ireland. I am writing to urge you to reject a licence application for a 2015-16 coursing season.
In coursing, hares suffer at all stages - during the capture, during the time they are kept in captivity and during the coursing meetings where they run for their lives in front of greyhounds. Among the injuries recorded are broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips. Every season, hare injuries and deaths occur.
I ask you to please act on the wishes of the majority, show compassion and refuse to issue the licence.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture
Please appeal to the Minister for Agriculture to remove an exemption for hare coursing from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Simon Coveney, TD Minister for Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
03. Spanish Tourism shamefully promoting bullfighting to Irish holidaymakers
"Come to Spain and discover the world of bullfighting - you are sure to have fun." This is the shameful message being presented by the Spanish Government's international tourism authority. The tourism body is not only encouraging people to attend bullfights but to also participate in the barbarity, saying "there are many companies in Spain that prepare everything necessary for you to bullfight young cows and bulls".
Earlier this month, the Spanish Tourism Office in Ireland was courting Irish travel writers in an attempt to promote animal cruelty events in Spain. The Dublin-based office wined and dined members of the media in an event to "celebrate" the cruel Pamplona bullrunning festival.
Those who turned up to the Morgan Hotel's penthouse suite were plied with Spanish wine and gifted a red "Pamplona - I like it" neckerchief - the type worn by drunk revellers who partake in the internationally condemned bullrun. Video footage was played at the Dublin gathering, showing the doomed bulls running through the crowds towards their painful fate in the local bullring.
One blogger who attended later presented the bullrun as a "breathtaking race" for the "most daring participants", adding that "The Spanish Tourism Office in Ireland really know how to throw a party". There was no mention of the suffering of the bulls, of course - something that Spanish Tourism was unlikely to have mentioned on the night.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has contacted members of the media who attended to highlight the cruelty of bullrunning and bullfighting. We are urging them to reject animal cruelty promotions and use their positions to encourage holidaymakers to boycott such events.
The Spanish Tourism website, Spain.info, is clearly keen to attract people of all nationalities to the bullfighting hellholes where animals are brutally tortured and killed. They have translated their pro-bullfighting message into multiple languages, including English, German, Dutch, Italian and French.
"Come to Spain and discover the world of bullfighting - you are sure to have fun."
"In Andalusia there are estates with everything designed for your enjoyment...There you can see fighting bulls and have the chance to take part in various fights with young bulls."
"Do you want to see a bull face to face? There are many companies in Spain that organise "capeas". They prepare everything necessary for you to bullfight young cows and bulls called 'becerros' or 'novillos'."
"Can you imagine feeling all the excitement of the world of bullfighting? Then come to Spain, because as well as attending spectacular bullfights you can discover the farms where these animals are raised, go on themed routes and take part in enjoyable traditional fiestas. An unforgettable experience."
"Would you like to see a fighting bull in its natural habitat? In Spain there are stunning estates dedicated to rearing fighting bulls...where you can live an authentic farm day, fight a bull in a small ring and sample typical regional delicacies such as blood pudding and bull stew. Sounds good, don’t you think?"
"After these experiences you may well become a bullfighting enthusiast. If this is the case, there are several regions in Spain where you can visit bullfighting museums, bull farms, bullrings... all in your own time. Some examples are the Madrid Bullfighting Route and a horse and bullfighting route in Cadiz."
By trying to lure holidaymakers into the blood-soaked bullrings, Spanish tourism is complicit in the continuation of this cruelty. As most Spaniards no longer have any interest in bullfighting, it is in many cases the tourists who keep bullrings afloat. If tourism authorities and travel agents stopped pushing tickets on tourists, it would surely spell the end for many bullrings.
Spain is the number one destination for Irish tourists with over 1.3 million visits from Ireland every year. The Irish Council Against Blood Sports believes that by actively promoting bullfighting, Spanish tourism authorities risk repelling many potential visitors who view bullfighting as the abhorrent and unacceptable obscenity that it is.
Contact the Spanish Tourism Office and make it clear that, as one of the majority opposed to animal cruelty, you find it very offensive that they are actively promoting bullfighting and bullrunning. If their promotion of animal cruelty would make you chose an alternative holiday destination, please point this out in your correspondence.
04. Success: Easons putting graphic hunting magazines out of reach of children
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has thanked Easons for responding positively to our appeal and acting to move graphic hunting publications out of the reach of children.
In an email to ICABS, Easons Head of Marketing, Brendan Corbett stated: "We are currently in the process of moving such titles from our bottom shelves to shelving at a height out of reach for children. We will also set up a prompt at our cash registers that ask anyone purchasing such titles whether they are over 18 (as per anyone purchasing cigarettes)."
A big thumbs up to Easons for this tremendous response.
In an appeal to the company earlier this year, we expressed concerns about the bottom shelf placement of publications containing very graphic and violent images.
"Often these publications present images of dogs or wildlife on the covers, which could entice unsuspecting children to open and look through them," we pointed out. "The horrific images inside – including bloodied carcasses of foxes, deer and birds hunted to their deaths – could prove very upsetting and traumatic."
"These offensive publications glorifying violence and killing should not be accessible to minors," we stressed, urging the company to move them to the top shelf or behind the counter and avoid selling them to under 18s.
An online petition urging Easons to act was signed by more than 1,000 people. A big thank you to everyone who signed!
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Easons and thank the company for its positive response.
05. Social Democrats TDs support ban on bloodsports
The three TDs who have formed Ireland's newest political party, the Social Democrats, are all in favour of a ban on bloodsports. In the past two years, Stephen Donnelly, Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy have voted in favour of legislation amendments which sought to ban foxhunting and hare coursing.
Stephen Donnelly, TD (Social Democrats, Wicklow):
On 27th March 2013, Stephen Donnelly supported amendments to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to outlaw hare coursing, foxhunting, terrierwork, digging-out, ferreting and fur farming.
Roisin Shortall, TD (Social Democrats, Dublin North-West): "To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the large scale destruction of farm and other property, often running to thousands of euro, by the unauthorised use of such lands for the purposes of live hunting." (From a Dail Question tabled in 2004)
On 27th March 2013, Roisin Shortall supported amendments to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to outlaw hare coursing, foxhunting, terrierwork, digging-out, ferreting and fur farming.
Catherine Murphy, TD (Social Democrats, Kildare North):
On 27th March 2013, Catherine Murphy supported an amendment to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to outlaw hare coursing.
06. Death of the Animal Padre, Reverend James Thompson
ICABS was sad to learn of the death of Reverend James Thompson, fondly known as the Animal Padre.
Reverend Thompson, from Holywell in Wales, sadly passed away on January 30th 2015 following a short illness. He was aged 84.
A founder of the group Christians Against All Animal Abuse, Rev Thompson for many years conducted the Remembrance Sunday service at the Animals War Memorial in London. He was supportive of numerous campaigns against animal cruelty and strongly condemned bloodsports, vivisection, bullfighting, live exports, etc.
"The love of animals based on the unwavering belief that they are all God's creation coupled with the seemingly boundless abuse of their
rights spirited James to wrestle with their plight," a friend wrote in a tribute. "This he did with all the energy he could muster."
Another friend, animal rights campaigner Judi Hewitt, said: "“He supported many activists who were fighting against animal testing,
factory farming, the fur trade, blood sports, and the circus – the list goes on. And it should never be forgotten that James conducted many animal
blessing services with the help of his wife Doreen."
Archdeacon of St Asaph, John Lomas, said: "James was a lovely man and a real gentleman who was very much loved in the Parish of Holywell. He was passionate about animal rights and most people knew him through the pet cemetery in Holywell. James was always very kind to those who had lost their pets and he will be fondly remembered as ‘the Animal Padre'."
In 2011, Reverend Thompson commended ICABS on our ongoing appeal to the Church to prohibit clergy involvement in blood sports and condemn the cruelty.
"Allow me to congratulate you on the wonderful work you are endeavouring to do, especially in trying to disturb the consciences of clergy who
could do so much for the animals, yet do nothing," he wrote in an email.
After reading on our website about Irish priests blessing foxhunts and attending hare coursing meetings, Rev Thomson asked: "Where has the spirit of St Francis gone within today's church communities?"
He added: "As an octogenarian priest, it disturbs me immensely that the church which claims to be the ark of salvation is so far removed from
Noah's ark. He included them in, while today's church casts them out!"
ICABS continues to urge Church authorities to take action to prevent priests from associating with blood sports. We have asked the Church to preach a message of compassion and condemn as sinful any participation in blood sports.
Find out more about Reverend Thompson, his books and wide-ranging work for animals at www.animalpadre.org
07. Donedeal removes ad for free pest control service
An advert for a "free pest control service" has been removed from Donedeal.ie after ICABS reported it as being in breach of the company's "no killing" policy.
The ad, displaying a photo of a net over a rabbit hole and two dogs standing next to it, was included in the "Farming" section. It stated: "I'm offering a free pest control service for land owners that are having problems with rabbits or rats. Im from dublin and work with ferrets and nets and lurchers and terriers. Can work with just ferrets and nets if there is cattle about. we always respect the land and live stock and never leaving gates opened."
In an appeal to Donedeal to remove the advert, ICABS highlighted the cruelty involved in ferreting.
"Ferreting is a type of bloodsport in which ferrets are sent underground to attack rabbits," we said. "There are two types of hunting ferrets; the eye ferret goes for the rabbit's eyes to blind him, and the 'brain ferret' bites straight into the head between the ears. The rabbits suffer a painful death."
Similarly, the use of terriers involves cruelty, with the terrier attacking the rabbit in its burrow. The rabbit is either killed underground or chased out into a net placed over the entrance. The rabbit becomes entangled in the net and is killed.
Some rabbits captured in nets may be kept alive and later used for blooding or to psyche up dogs ahead of greyhound racing events. An individual involved in ferreting revealed in a Westmeath newspaper that "they sometimes use [netted rabbits] for teasing the greyhound in a thing called a 'rolling cage' which is a small round cage they put the rabbit in to tease the dog before a race."
If you spot an ad which breaches Done Deal's terms and conditions or if you have an animal welfare concern about an ad, please click on the "Report Ad" button.
08. Three men in court over alleged unlawful badger hunt
Irish Times, July 27th 2015
Three Dublin men accused of taking part in an unlawful badger hunt using an electronic device, shovels and tracking dogs have been given two months to decide how they will plead.
Gavin O’Dowd of Lambay Drive, Ballybrack, along with Dean and Gavin Fitzpatrick both of Coolevin, Ballybrack appeared at Dublin District Court on Monday.
The men each face prosecution on three charges under the Wildlife Act but have not yet indicated how they intend to plea.
In June, Judge John O’Neill made a discovery order and at that stage he had agreed to a defence request to adjourn the case to allow time for the prosecution to provide disclosure of evidence to the defence.
On Monday, the three men appeared again in court and their barrister sought a two-week adjournment.
Judge O’Neill adjourned the case until a date in September and he said that they will have to tell the court how they intend to plead at their next hearing.
The three men, who did not address the court, are being prosecuted by the office of the Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in connection with an alleged unlawful badger hunt in the Cabinteely area in Co Dublin on October 22nd last.
The first two charges state it is alleged they hunted a badger which is a protected wild animal and this was not in accordance with any licence of permission given and that they “wilfully interfered with” a badger’s breeding or resting place during the incident.
In the third count it is claimed they were not entitled to be at the named location and were not the owners of occupiers of the place and that they had spades and shovels as well as an electronic device “emitting sounds for tracking dogs hunting underground capable of being used for hunting wild animals”.
They had been granted legal aid when they made their first court appearance in June and the court has not yet begun hearing evidence.
09. DCC and NPWS urged to act to protect St Anne's Park wildlife
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has urged Dublin City Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to urgently act to protect wildlife in St Anne's Park.
The Irish Daily Star has this week revealed that bloodsport thugs are bringing dogs into the park at night to brutally attack and kill resident foxes and badgers.
Disturbing images obtained by The Star show the bloody fate of wild mammals.
The Star quoted an inside source as saying "There are gangs of lads who sneak into St Anne’s at night with the dogs they use to catch badgers and foxes, which are part of its wildlife and the reason why many people go there. They find their underground setts, let the dogs loose and either take them away to pit them against dogs or kill them. As these pictures show, their bodies are just dumped in bushes or on the grass, and often end up in with the rest of the park’s rubbish. And there could even be little cubs still inside that badger’s sett, either killed, taken away or orphaned, left to fend for themselves. It’s horrific what is happening there and these guys are getting away with it.”
St Anne's Park is located in the Northside of Dublin between Raheny and Clontarf. It lies less than a mile from Bull Island where human activities have pushed the Irish Hare to virtual extinction.
ACTION ALERT
If you live in Dublin City, please urge your local Councillors to take action to protect wildlife. If you have information on those responsible for bloodsports activities in St Anne's Park, please pass on the details to the Gardai. Thank you.
10. TV3's Pete the Vet expresses support for bloodsports ban
Celebrity vet, Pete Wedderburn, has expressed his support for a ban on Ireland's cruel hare coursing and fox hunting. Mr Wedderburn, better known as "Pete the Vet", tweeted: "I would support your calls for a ban. Can see no justification for blood sports."
Pete has previously come out against carted deer hunting and criticised a 2011 pledge by Fine Gael to reverse the ban.
"There are nine words [in the Fine Gael manifesto] which I find a bit upsetting," compassionate Pete said at the time. "Those nine words are 'Fine Gael will reverse the ban on stag hunting'...It's one specific hunt where what they do is regarded across Europe as being something which is inhumane, cruel and belonging to two centuries ago, never mind last century and it should be stopped."
As well as being a practising vet, Pete Wedderburn is also a Telegraph columnist, author and the resident vet on TV3's Ireland AM programme.
A big thanks to Pete for expressing support for a bloodsports ban. Find out more about him at http://www.petethevet.com
@banbloodsports Yes, I would support your calls for a ban. Can see no justification for blood sports.
If you like our work, please consider making a donation. 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 the Paypal button at www.banbloodsports.com to make a donation or send a cheque made payable to ICABS to ICABS, PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. Thank you very much.
11. Westmeath Cllr: Hunts can cause more damage than an entire parish
A Westmeath County Councillor has highlighted the damage caused by foxhunters and said that hunts need to be controlled.
Fine Gael Cllr, Frank McDermott, was speaking at a council discussion about proposals to restrict dogs and horses from local lakeshores and curb anti-social behaviour.
According to a 4th June report in the Westmeath Topic newspaper, Cllr McDermott "said that hunt meetings 'with dozens of foxhounds and horses' can cause more damage in a few minutes than an entire parish would cause in a year and he suggested they be controlled under new bye-laws".
This is not the first time that the issue of hunt damage has been raised at a Westmeath Council meeting. Earlier this year, councillors discussed damage to a newly laid path for pedestrians and cyclists.
The Westmeath Topic reported that the path was left torn up after mounted members of the Westmeath Foxhounds ploughed through it during a hunt. Local walkers and cyclists were dismayed to witness the destruction the hunt left in its wake. "More than half of the newly laid surface was torn up and not easily cycled on, and walkers found that grit was going into their shoes," the paper outlined, quoting a cyclist as saying: "The council will have to roll this stretch of the pathway again, because of what happened."
In a letter to the council, ICABS stated: "We urge you to prosecute the hunt responsible for the damage caused, prohibit them from using this path in the future and seek the full cost of repairing the damage done. This path is an important and valued new amenity for locals and tourists and it must be protected from incursions by hunts."
ACTION ALERT
Contact Westmeath County Council to express your support for a ban on hunters and hunt horses/hounds at lakeshores. Urge the council to prosecute hunts which cause damage to public property.
12. Coursers get over 100,000 Euro from taxpayer-funded Greyhound Board
The Irish Coursing Club was paid more than 100,000 euro last year by the taxpayer-funded Irish Greyhound Board, it has emerged. The bulk of the money made it its way to coursers via advertising in the Sporting Press - the Irish Coursing Club's "greyhound and coursing newspaper".
The sickening details of the payments were uncovered by Clare Daly TD who questioned Minister Simon Coveney about "the amount of loans, funding and/or payments paid out by Bord na gCon to the Irish Coursing Club or any of its affiliated coursing clubs".
In response, Minister Coveney confirmed that in 2014, the Irish Greyhound Board "purchased advertising from the Sporting Press Ltd, a subsidiary company of the ICC, to the value of €92,057" and also paid out €13,988 to the coursers for DNA sampling services.
The funds for advertising are annual payments and have been going on for years. In 2005, the Irish Independent revealed that the greyhound board had made a decision not to advertise any more in the coursers' paper but later reversed this decision and actually doubled the amount paid out to 148,000 euro per year.
Last October, ICABS revealed that a massive €13.6 million of taxpayers' money was to be paid out to prop up Bord na gCon, the Irish Greyhound Board - a body with overall control of greyhound racing and hare coursing and whose chairman is a former member of the Irish Coursing Club executive committee. Details from the government budget showed that the massive pay-out - compliments of struggling taxpayers - was €2.8 million greater than the previous year's grant.
"We have no doubt that some of this cash will make its way into the coffers of the Irish Coursing Club," ICABS stated at the time.
It is an outrage that hare coursers are receiving funds from a government-funded body in a country where the vast majority of citizens want the bloodsport made illegal.
13. NPWS issue thousands of licences for killing of protected animals
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has issued thousands of licences which permit the killing of protected species. The latest available figures, from 2013, show that nearly 7,000 licences were granted, most of which were for destroying animals that are supposedly "protected".
The latest available figures, from 2013, show that nearly 7,000 licences were granted, most of which were for destroying animals that are supposedly "protected".
A total of 4,563 shooting licences were given out to deer hunters, 565 licences for hunting over state foreshores/lakes and 86 licences for the hunting of pen-reared birds which are released and later blasted out of the sky.
493 licences were also issued by the NPWS for killing protected wild birds and animals causing "serious damage" to "food (including human food products and animal feeds), livestock, poultry or agricultural crops, pen-reared wild birds, other fauna, flora, woodland or forest plantation, or a fishery, buildings and other structures and their contents, or aquaculture installations."
Last year, it emerged that the National Parks and Wildlife Service issued a licence to a business owner for the killing of a rare and protected pine marten. The damage which merited a death sentence? "Urinating/defecating or other damage to stock," the NPWS Licensing Unit stated in response to an enquiry from ICABS.
Details of the licences issued in 2013
Deer hunting
4,563
Hunt over State foreshore/lakes
565
Pen-reared birds
86
Serious damage caused by protected wild birds/animals
493
Wildlife dealers
82
Protection of wild birds, animals and flora
179
Film/photograph wild birds/animals
103
Retain injured birds and animals
53
Ringing/marking protected wild birds/animals
122
Birds of prey possession
199
Engage in falconry
205
Derogations
129
Other licences
176
Totals
6,955
ACTION ALERT
Urge Minister Heather Humphreys and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to protect Irish wildlife and stop issuing wildlife killing licences.
Email "Stop issuing licences for the killing of protected animals" to Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie [Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie,ministers.office@ahg.gov.ie,taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie,joan.burton@oireachtas.ie,wildlifelicence@ahg.gov.ie,Gerry.Leckey@ahg.gov.ie]
Tel: (01) 631 3802 or (01) 631 3800
Leave a comment on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/heather.humphreysfg
Tweet to Heather Humphreys: @HHumphreysFG Tweet to @HHumphreysFG
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
Dear Minister Humphreys,
I was horrified to learn that the National Parks and Wildlife Service division of your department is issuing thousands of licences for the killing of protected animals.
This is unacceptable. I urge you to act to protect Irish wildlife and stop facilitating those intent on destroying it.
14. Coursers attempting to hide hare capture information
The Irish Coursing Club is trying to block access to information relating to the locations where hares are captured for coursing.
A Freedom of Information request made by ICABS to the National Parks and Wildlife Service elicited "hare capture returns" documents with all the capture locations obscured.
According to the NPWS: "The Department has received a submission from the Irish Coursing Club objecting to the release of data identifying the locations of the capture and release of the hares which they provided to the Department."
ICABS renewed an appeal to the NPWS to release the information and we have been informed that copies of the original, unedited documents will be supplied to us - subject to an appeal by the Irish Coursing Club.
In previous years, ICABS has identified instances of coursers breaching licence conditions and taking hares from land where they had no permission to be. The latest attempts by coursers to keep the locations under wraps could indicate that similar licence breaches occurred last season.
15. Emmerdale actress condemns foxhunting and bullfighting
Emmerdale actress, Gemma Atkinson, has expressed her opposition to cruel foxhunting.
The animal loving actress tweeted a link to a petition calling for a Europe-wide ban on foxhunting.
Responding to an individual who argued that foxes deserve to hunted because they themselves hunt, Gemma tweeted: "They hunt for survival you moron. How is it then fair for us to hunt them on horseback with dogs for 'sport'."
@BenjaminPoyser_@BadHareDays they hunt for survival you moron. How is it then fair for us to hunt them on horseback with dogs for "sport"
In a tweet to ICABS on July 24th, Gemma condemned bullfighting saying "This 'sport' and anyone who takes part in it or gets enjoyment from it sickens me. It's horrible & totally unnecessary."
Gemma Atkinson has previously appeared in Hollyoaks and Casualty and currently stars as Carla Hope in Emmerdale.
ICABS has thanked her for backing the UK hunt ban and asked her to join calls for a ban on hunting in Ireland.
16. More and more Irish badgers being cruelly snared and killed
Sickening new figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that more and more badgers are being cruelly snared and killed across Ireland as part of its discredited Bovine TB Eradication scheme. The details, obtained by Badger Watch Ireland, show that not only is the carnage continuing but that the number of badgers being killed is increasing.
A Department representative revealed that "the number of badgers culled under licence by DAFM for the year 2013 was 6,103". The number of badgers killed by the Department last year, 2014, was even higher at 6,366. The killing of this protected species is made possible with a licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service's National Licensing Unit (which also licenses hare coursing).
The decimation of badger populations continues despite research by the Department which shows that badgers actively avoid fields of cattle and buildings containing cattle. There is also a complete absence of any substantive evidence that the Department of Agriculture’s current badger culling programme has reduced bovine TB. The cull has been condemned as "slaughter masquerading as science".
Maureen O'Sullivan TD (Dublin Central, Independent) has renewed a call on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to cancel his department's cruel badger cull. In a 14 May 2015 parliamentary exchange, Deputy O'Sullivan refers to a 4-year study which has found that badgers actively avoid fields of cattle and buildings containing cattle.
"Is there not a good justifiable reason to suspend the culling of badgers," Maureen asks Minister Coveney.
Some of the points made by Maureen O’Sullivan:
Badgers are culled in most horrific circumstances. We have seen badgers caught in the trap where they are shot. Poison has been laid. Slurry has been left in some of the traps in order to further intensify the cruelty. This is being carried out under licences issued by the Department.
80% of the badgers being culled are perfectly healthy animals
This cull of badgers has been called slaughter masquerading as science
There is a need for a more holistic approach to bovine TB rather than blaming the badger for everything.
Get in touch with Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to demand an end to his Department's cruel badger cull. Tell the Minister that he must take on board new research findings which have shown that badgers actively avoid cattle fields and yards of cattle.
Minister Simon Coveney Minister for Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01-661 1013.
Please write to the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs and to the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Remind them that the Wildlife Act, for which they are responsible, lists the badger as a protected species. Demand that they stop licensing the snaring and killing of thousands of badgers as part of a cruel and discredited TB eradication scheme.
Minister Heather Humphreys Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs
23 Kildare Street
Dublin 2
17. Minister asked why no sanctions for coursers who breached licence conditions
Ruth Coppinger TD has challenged Minister Heather Humphreys on why she failed to sanction two coursing clubs which breached their licence conditions. In a Dail Question on 15th May, the Dublin West Socialist Party TD asked Humphreys "the reason she intervened in the case of two hare coursing clubs and did not apply any sanctions, following alleged breaches of conditions of their licences."
The breaches, involving lack of cooperation with monitoring wildlife rangers and verbal abuse, are described by the Minister as being "very serious" but, regardless, she opted to give a warning to the clubs in question instead of removing them from the licence or, at the very least, curtailing their meetings.
"Following engagement with the clubs in question and the Irish Coursing Club, the body that oversees individual coursing clubs, written assurances were provided to my Department that both clubs would fully co-operate with officials of the Department at all times and that they would adhere to all licence conditions," Minister Humphreys stated in response to Ruth Coppinger's question. "On the basis of these assurances, I decided not to impose sanctions against the clubs on this occasion."
According to an internal National Parks and Wildlife Service memo, obtained by ICABS under Freedom of Informaiton: "It was decided, given the seriousness of the incidents at these meetings, to impose sanctions on both clubs (Mallow and Liscannor) by way of a reduction in the number of competitive courses allowed by each club at their forthcoming meetings. However, following discussions with the Minister, it was decided that before the imposition of these sanctions, both clubs should be given the opportunity to provide assurances relating to future co-operation with Department officials..."
According to another NPWS memo, “The main issues of concern reported by the Conservation Ranger at the Liscannor meeting on 28 and 29 September 2013 was the refusal of club officials to allow access to the paddock area (where hares are kept) and subsequent intimidation and verbal abuse of the conservation ranger”. And in Mallow, according to the same internal NPWS memo, there was lack of cooperation with the conservation ranger and discrepancies relating to the release of hares, plus a claim by the club that the conservation ranger was present at hare releases when in fact this was not the case.
In other documents seen by ICABS, the Mallow coursing club penned an arrogant and totally unapologetic letter to the National Parks Assistant Principal, challenging the conservation ranger’s report, i.e. claiming that she did not turn up to oversee the release of the hares, while in fact it was the coursers who did not turn up at the appointed time, refusing to give their contact phone numbers to the ranger, stating they didn’t have mobile phones. The letter then went on to say: “As regards the threatened sanctions, our two local TDs Sean Sherlock and Tom Barry have been made aware of the situation.” They further stated that the two TDs were “well aware that the Mallow club at all times abide by the rules”.
The response of the National Parks’ licensing section to this arrogance from Mallow coursing club was to propose a mere slap on the wrist in the form of curtailment of a number of hare courses, which would result in their meeting being reduced by half the number of courses. It was also proposed by the NPWS that Liscannor coursing club would have one third of the usual number of hare courses reduced. However, in a total climb down, after "discussions with the Minister", it was decided not to implement any sanction whatsoever on Liscannor and Mallow, the Minister and NPWS accepting their assurances that they would behave themselves in the future.
This climb down by the Minister, who has previously insisted that breaches of the licence conditions by hare coursers will not be tolerated, sends a clear signal to the coursers that they can do as they please, as sanctions are seldom meted out for bad behaviour. It is outrageous that the Liscannor coursers were allowed to hold a meeting after intimidating and verbally abusing a ranger, while Mallow refused to cooperate with the ranger, and then in a letter to the National Parks, were totally unapologetic, again contradicting the ranger's true account of events and criticising her.
It is clear now that the flimsy licence conditions attached to the hare coursing licence is not worth the paper it is written on, and the coursers are clearly in the driving seat, with less and less hare coursing meetings being monitored by the National Parks, due to lack of manpower. In any event, no amount of monitoring and supervision is going to alleviate the terror and stress inflicted on vulnerable hares used as live bait before greyhounds in coursing, and the only solution is a total ban on this barbaric, outdated activity.
ACTION ALERT
Get in touch with all your local TDs now and urge them to back a ban on hare coursing.
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
Dear Minister,
I am one of the majority who want hare coursing outlawed. I am writing to urge you to stop licensing this cruel bloodsport
In coursing, hares suffer at all stages - during the capture, during the time they are kept in captivity and during the coursing meetings where they run for their lives in front of greyhounds. Among the injuries recorded are broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips. Every season, hare injuries and deaths are documented.
I ask you to please act on the wishes of the majority, show compassion and stop licensing coursing.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture
Please appeal to the Minister for Agriculture to remove an exemption for hare coursing from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Simon Coveney, TD Minister for Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
The senators calling for a seagull cull are bloodsports supporters, ICABS can reveal.
Fianna Fail Senator Denis O’Donovan has declared that the birds are “a nuisance and a pest" and should be killed.
"We should consider a cull of these vicious seabirds that are invading our towns,” he said, bizarrely comparing the creatures to "rabbits with Myxomatosis or a cow with mad cow disease".
In 2010, O'Donovan voted against the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill after "meeting more than 150 people involved in coursing and gun clubs".
Kerry Senator, Paul Coghlan has backed O'Donovan's calls for seagulls to be killed. He too is a supporter of bloodsports.
The Fine Gael politician is on record as saying that cruel hare coursing is "well regulated". Back in 2010, he also made it clear that he was "completely opposed" to the ban on stag hunting. Quoted in the Irish Times, he said: "It is a legitimate and worthwhile country pursuit. I cannot discern where cruelty is involved."
Also demonising seagulls in the Seanad was the Labour Party's Denis Landy - "I have a Jack Russell at home and I hope to God the seagulls do not get him because apparently they have killed terriers across England already," he said.
Landy was slammed earlier this year for praising the organisers of Clonmel's coursing cruelty festival and describing the chasing of live hares with greyhounds as “fantastic sport”. Speaking in Seanad Eireann, he stated: “I congratulate and commend all those involved in the running of the 90th national coursing meeting in Clonmel”
19. Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association wants deer killed
100,000 badgers have already been cruelly snared and killed in Ireland as part of a failed and discredited "TB Eradication" scheme.
Now, there are calls for deer to be similarly destroyed.
An Irish Independent report reveals that the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association is demanding that wild deer be urgently killed.
Claiming that the deer are responsible for spreading TB to cows in the dairy industry, ICMSA president John Comer is demanding "really serious control of the wild deer population" .
Previously, the ICMSA declared its support for the bloodsport of carted deer hunting. In 2010, ICABS expressed disgust to the association after its then president referred to carted deerhunting as a "humane country activity" and claimed that the ban on the Ward Union is "unwanted, uncalled for, unfair and unprecedented in terms of the bias it represents against traditional country pursuits".
20. The Irish Hare - an unprotected "protected species"
When is a "protected species" not a protected species? When it can be legally shot, chased by packs of hounds and used as live bait for greyhounds.
Responding to a Dail Question on 15th April, the Minister for Arts & Heritage Heather Humphreys referred to the Irish Hare as a “protected species” but the reality is that this gentle creature is far from protected. A notice posted on the National Parks and Wildlife Service website details the "hunting period", "manner of hunting" and locations where hares may be terrorised and killed by bloodsports enthusiasts.
During seven months of the year, coursers (with a licence from the NPWS) can roam the countryside with nets to catch the hares they will use as bait for greyhounds at coursing meetings. With loud noises and shouting, they frighten the hares into running away and into the nets, where they become helplessly entangled. Members of coursing clubs then pull the hares from the nets, throw them into boxes and transport them to compounds where they are kept in captivity for weeks/months before being forced to run for their lives.
Compliments of Minister Humphreys' department, those who enjoy blasting wildlife to death can also legally shoot hares from the end of September and throughout October, November, December, January and February. They don't even require a licence to kill this "protected species" .
Hares are also targeted by hunts using packs of beagles and harrier hounds. When caught, the hares are ripped apart by the dogs.
ACTION ALERT
Urge Minister Heather Humphreys to give permanent protection to the Irish Hare.
21. Three fur farms remain in Ireland - demand a fur farming ban now
Two down, three to go. Responding to a Dail Question from Maureen O'Sullivan TD, the Minister for Agriculture has this week revealed that two former fur farm licence holders have "ceased to hold licences" and that three mink fur farms remain.
It is currently unclear if any fox fur farms remain, a licence for which is not required.
It is to Ireland's shame that it continues to be a part of the global fur industry. An estimated 200,000 mink are killed on Irish fur farms every year. The animals are pulled from their filthy cages after six months of permanent captivity, thrown into a box and poisoned to death with carbon monoxide gas. Mink are semi-aquatic and highly evolved physiologically to hold their breath. They are able to detect a lack of oxygen in their blood and are prone to hypoxia, which means that they can suffer particularly during gassing.
I support a total ban on fur farming and an immediate closure of Ireland's fur farms.
In these hellholes, animals suffer a horrendous life of misery before being cruelly gassed to death. There is absolutely no justification for allowing this cruelty to continue.
Please ban fur farming now.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
In 2005, Simon Coveney, Enda Kenny and Joan Burton voted in favour of the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill. The bill was narrowly defeated by 67 votes to 50 but now - 10 years and over a million animal deaths later - the trio of Agriculture Minister, Taoiseach and Tanaiste are in the perfect positions to put in place a ban. Please contact them now and tell them that "The time has come to ban fur farming in Ireland"
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine notwithstanding the lack of scientific evidence linking badgers to the spread of tuberculosis to cattle, if he will initiate a programme of vaccinating badgers, carried out by his Department's staff and/or volunteers to replace the cruel badger cull which is decimating badger populations, in view of a recent analysis (details supplied) that has proven the vaccination of badgers to be very cost efficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine: (Simon Coveney) There is very considerable scientific evidence of a link between badgers and cattle in the context of the spread of bovine TB. Research conducted over the years by the Department and others has demonstrated that the eradication of bovine TB disease is not a practicable proposition until the issue of the reservoir of infection in badgers, which is seeding infection into the cattle population, is addressed. It is therefore necessary to eradicate TB in both species. In view of this, the comprehensive TB Eradication Programme as implemented by my Department has incorporated a badger removal and population control policy since 2004.
I should emphasise that badgers are only removed in areas where an epidemiological investigation carried out by my Department’s veterinary inspectorate has found that badgers are the likely source of the infection. It is not the case that the badger culling programme is decimating the badger population; on an international scale Ireland is classified as having a medium density population of badgers as opposed to the very low and low densities throughout Europe generally and the medium to very high density levels seen in Great Britain. My Department also monitors the animal welfare aspects of badger capture/culling on a continuous basis and is satisfied that the existing arrangements and procedures result in minimal injury to badgers.
While the current approach to badgers control is cost effective and has contributed significantly to the very significant improvement in the disease situation in recent years, the ultimate objective of my Department is to incorporate badger vaccination into the Irish TB eradication programme. However, this strategy can only be deployed when data is available to ensure that this can be done in an optimally effective and sustainable manner. In view of this, various projects, involving vaccine development and oral-delivery techniques are under way (including in collaboration with the United Kingdom), with a view to developing a viable badger TB-vaccine and vaccination strategy. Considerable progress has already been made and vaccination by individual capture, with injection of human grade BCG vaccine, is already being deployed in 8 areas in the country involving over 8,000 km. A process to measure the efficacy of this strategy is in train, but will take some time to complete.
The time frame for the implementation of badger vaccination on a national scale will depend on a number of critical factors, notably scientific evidence that badger vaccination is as effective as badger culling in preventing the spread of disease from badgers to cattle, the authorisation of an oral vaccine for badgers under veterinary medicines regulations and the identification of an efficient and effective oral-delivery method for that vaccine. Standard requirements for authorisation necessitates proving that the vaccine and the chosen method of delivery fulfils criteria relating to safety, including safety in non-target species, efficacy, including duration of immunity, and quality. As stated above, my Department is working very closely with DEFRA in the UK with a view to progressing these issues and is advancing the licensing process and the eight area vaccination programme in parallel. I expect that significant progress can be made towards delivery of a fully authorised oral badger vaccine over the next 3 years.
Questions 20 - Answered on 18th June, 2015
Clare Daly, TD (Dublin North, United Left): To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views in relation to whether she is concerned at the fact that National Parks and Wildlife Service officers only visited 17 out of the over 75 coursing events which were held during the 2014/2015 coursing season; her plans regarding same; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys: Hare coursing is administered by the Irish Coursing Club, a body set up under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Under the terms of the Wildlife Acts, licences are required by the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of their affiliated clubs to facilitate the tagging and the capture of hares. Such licences are issued on an annual basis by my Department. Coursing meetings can only take place during the Open Season, between 26 September and 28 February of the following year.
Regional staff of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department attend coursing meetings, as resources allow, to monitor compliance with the conditions of the licences. Such staff perform a wide variety of functions relating to management of National Parks, the conservation of habitats, the protection of protected species and the enforcement of legislation under national and EU law. Delivering on this work is particularly challenging at a time of constrained financial and staffing resources. Within this context, my Department prioritises its human resources to those areas of most critical demand.
Notwithstanding current staffing constraints, my Department’s officials monitored seventeen coursing meetings during the last season. Veterinary officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also attend some coursing meetings.
Questions 36 - Answered on 18th June, 2015
Clare Daly, TD (Dublin North, United Left): To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in view of the recently published Irish Council Against Blood Sport Report into the 2014/2015 coursing season, if she will reconsider renewing coursing licences.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys: I have received licence applications from the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of its affiliated clubs to facilitate the tagging and capturing of hares for the purposes of hare coursing for the 2015/16 coursing season. In examining these applications, my Department will take account of the various reports available to it in respect of coursing meetings carried out during the 2014/15 season.
Question 546 - Answered on 19 May 2015
Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party): To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason she intervened in the case of two hare coursing clubs (details supplied), and did not apply any sanctions, following alleged breaches of conditions of their licences. [19344/15]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael): Licences were issued by my Department in August 2014, under the Wildlife Acts, to the Irish Coursing Club on behalf of their affiliated clubs to facilitate the tagging and capturing of hares for the purpose of hare coursing for the 2014/15 coursing season.
Where resources allow, officials of my Department attend coursing meetings, on a spot-check basis, to monitor compliance with conditions on the licences granted by my Department. Veterinary officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine also attend some meetings on an annual basis.
The reports of officials from my Department who attended the two coursing meetings in question in September and October 2013 indicated that there was a lack of co-operation with them in the course of their duties, an issue which I take very seriously.
Following engagement with the clubs in question and the Irish Coursing Club, the body that oversees individual coursing clubs, written assurances were provided to my Department that both clubs would fully co-operate with officials of the Department at all times and that they would adhere to all licence conditions. On the basis of these assurances, I decided not to impose sanctions against the clubs on this occasion. At the same time, both clubs were issued with written warnings that any further transgressions, especially relating to lack of co-operation with officials of my Department, would result in my Department imposing future sanctions against the clubs.
Officials from my Department monitored the meetings of both clubs during the 2014/15 coursing season. The Conservation Rangers who attended the meetings reported that there was full co-operation forthcoming.
"Let's stop this! Shame on the Spanish for still allowing bullfighting and Shame on those who buy tickets to go and watch it"
from a tweet by singer-songwriter Don Mescall @DonMescall Jul 27th 2015
"You'd need a submachine gun to keep them [deer] out" - despicable comment from Irish dairy farmer shows shameful contempt for country's wildlife. Irish Independent, 15th July 2015 http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/youd-need-a-submachine-gun-to-keep-them-out-31373436.html
The Zimbabwean environment minister has called for the dentist who killed Cecil the lion to be extradited from the US to face trial for financing an illegal hunt. Oppah Muchinguri told a news conference that Walter Palmer, 55, was a “foreign poacher” and said she understood Zimbabwe’s prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited. “Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin,” she told a news conference on Friday. “We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he be made accountable.” from The Guardian, Friday 31 July 2015.
"You should shoot the parents first and then wait for the cubs to come out [of their earth]. They will hang around the mother. Cruel but effective." from an Irish wildlife shooting forum relating to the killing of foxes and cubs - Boards.ie, May 2015.
"Almost 225,000 animals were used in scientific procedures in Ireland last year, according to new figures. An annual report from the Health Product Regulatory Authority (HPRA) showed that mice accounted for the vast majority of animals used, followed by rats. Other animals used for tests last year included rabbits, horses, cows, ferrets and zebrafish." from Nearly 225,000 animals used for scientific tests in 2014, Irish Times, July 20th, 2015
"Do ducks die instantly when shot with shot gun!!! I would say no. I also think that rats (still one of god's creatures) aren't killed instantly with poison or traps. Their death is secured but not necessarily instant. And what of the christian symbol, the fish. It drowns slowly." Comment left by a hunter on Boards.ie.
"A farmer came up to me in a jeep and asked if I was heading out so I said I was. He explained he has had a fox knocking about the yard and took a few chicks and a duck in past few weeks and most recently this morning. So I followed him to his land and he took me out. Only has 60 acres but sure it's land. He said he's not sure where the fox is but there's a hole in a ditch that might hold a fox. As we walked down I told him his fox is in this field...I waited five mins and out she popped. Was 136 yards away and I dropped her in the chest and out the shoulder." from a shooting forum on Boards.ie, May 2015
Help raise awareness about Ireland’s animal cruelty issues – write letters to the editors of local and national newspapers to speak out against hare coursing, foxhunting, etc.
The Church and blood sports
The Kerryman, 24 June 2015
While welcoming the Pope’s encyclical slamming humanity’s irresponsible destruction of our global environment, and his forthright warning of what he called a veritable “hell on earth” resulting from climate change, I hope he will now also take a strong stand on the horrific ill treatment of animals in the name of "sport".
Having taken the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, he will be acutely aware of the value of kindness and humane treatment of our fellow creatures. Saint Francis considered the lesser beings his brothers and sisters, and was moved to pity by their plight, especially by mankind’s deliberate cruelty to them.
I am sure Saint Francis of Assisi would agree that animals targeted by blood sports are subjected to a man made “hell on earth.”
A few well chosen words from Pope Francis would help to dispatch these obscenities to their rightful place: the dustbin of history.
John Fitzgerald,
Lower Coyne St, Callan, Co Kilkenny
Call to ban foxhunting in European Union
Westmeath Topic, 25 June 2015
Dear Editor,
A petition on the Care 2 website calls on the European Parliament and Commission to ban fox hunting throughout the European Union. The petition is worthy of our support, because Ireland permits this cruel and indefensible blood sport. It serves no purpose, apart from giving pleasure to riders and hunt followers, while causing immense suffering to the animals.
Fox hunting has nothing to do with pest control, and hunts ensure a plentiful supply of foxes for the next season. Instead of seeking the quickest, most humane means of dispatching a fox, the hunt will pursue each animal for miles, until its lungs give out and exhaustion delivers it to the pack to be torn apart. If the fox goes to ground, it is dug out and thrown to the waiting pack.
I hope that Irish citizens who back the protection of our wildlife heritage will sign the Care 2 petition. Current EU legislation allows member states to draft their own laws in relation to blood sports. The petition calls for a legally binding EU-wide prohibition on fox hunting.
If this can be achieved, other cruel practices, such as bull fighting and hare coursing, may follow it into the dustbin of history.
John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co Kilkenny
Please sign and share the petition : Ask the European Parliament to outlaw Fox hunting with dogs in Europe http://www.thepetitionsite.com/155/421/388/ask-the-european-parliament-to-outlaw-fox-hunting-with-dogs-in-europe/
Averil Power's opposition to hare coursing
Irish Times, May 27th 2015
Sir, – The criticisms levelled by Senator Averil Power against Fianna Fáil in her resignation speech could equally be applied to the other political parties. When campaigning for a ban on hare-coursing over the years I’ve seen proof of this. A TD I once called told me, in a calm, friendly tone, after much waffling and batting the breeze, “I’m against hare-coursing and all that but, you know, I’m not going to lose my seat over a bloody hare.”
Averil Power has, incidentally, spoken out against hare-coursing in the Seanad, unlike a single one of her Fianna Fáil parliamentary party colleagues. We need more people like her in Irish politics. – Yours, etc,
John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co Kilkenny.
Silly season on seagulls
Irish Independent, 24th July 2015
In recent days we have been subjected to a spate of silly season scare stories about seagulls attacking dogs, terrorising sheep in Kerry, diving like Stukas from the Nazi Luftwaffe on cross-country ramblers and cyclists and "colonising" entire fields.
As the stories got bigger with the telling, imaginations ran wild, fuelling even darker fears of the kind explored in Alfred Hitchcock's horror movie 'The Birds'.
Senator Denis O'Donovan rose to the occasion, as he saw it, by demanding a cull. Similar calls have been doing the rounds on social media and in thousands of phone texts criss-crossing the land.
The senator's outrage against the gulls reminded me of another debate, back in the mid-1970s, when a politician claimed that hares could remove babies from prams if not controlled and kept under constant observation by coursing clubs.
Let's not get carried away by anti-gull hysteria. This breathtakingly beautiful creature is part of the fabric of the planet's avian environment, a graceful bird that occupies a special place in the literature and folklore of many island nations. Gulls add a musical resonance to a walk along a coastline or on the country roads a little farther inland. The seas and oceans of the world would be dull indeed without them.
In Ireland, they are a protected species and that status should not be altered in the slightest. Bird-brained calls for the mass killing of gulls are motivated by ignorance of their intrinsic value to the ecosystem, their remarkable intelligence and highly evolved social structures.
Senator O'Donovan and other members of the Oireachtas who share his analysis of bird behaviour are entitled to their views, but let's not rush to judge and scapegoat our feathered if occasionally strident friends. We've been gulled by politicians for long enough in this country!
John Fitzgerald
Callan, Co Kilkenny
I was not impressed by Liam Collins's aggressive rant against the seagull population (Irish Independent, July 22). Extermination was top of his list as a way of avoiding "gulls as big as dogs" eating fast-food leftovers on our city centre streets.
Did it ever occur to Mr Collins that these over-sized birds may be suffering from obesity due to an addiction to fast food? It's a habit that was no doubt learned from the multitude of human consumers who stuff their faces with this rubbish and dump what they can't finish on the path.
I believe that before embarking on his culling campaign, Mr Collins should first examine the laws that permit fast-food outlets to operate on every second street in city centres throughout the country.
Obesity has become a huge problem in Ireland. The throwaway culture that has become endemic is crippling not only the population but our natural habitat as well.
So stop blaming the birds for becoming opportunistic and start pointing the finger at the flourishing fast-food industry.
Miriam Clune
Dublin 1
Rather than cull the gulls, why not clean the streets? Then the gulls won't come down to clean up, and if people are worried about the decline in the small bird population, they should observe the law and not trim hedges during the nesting season.
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Simply keeping your ear to the ground.
about any blood-sport related incidents in your area.
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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