Hunt is illegal, say eminent legal experts 18 December 2007 Legal experts have outlined that the Ward Union deer hunt is illegal under current animal protection legislation. ICABS has brought their compelling Irish Law Times report to the attention of Environment Minister, John Gormley, and urged him to hold firm and not issue a licence to the hunt. To date, the new Minister has been considering whether to grant the hunt a licence (issued previously under the 1976 Wildlife Act) and so far no decision has been made and no deer hunting has taken place during the hunt's season of November to March. Our call to the Minister comes as Part 2 of the legal opinion by Professors Clive Symmons and William Binchy of Trinity School of Law (published in the latest edition of the Irish Law Times) concludes that the Ward Union hunt is "illegal" under the 1911 Protection of Animals Act, and that it shouldn't be licensed under the 1976 Wildlife Act, as the deer are not wild animals. ICABS has been campaigning against the Ward Union hunt for almost twenty years and we have been appealing to successive Environment Ministers to stop giving it a licence. We have obtained reports, under the Freedom of Information Act, detailing the suffering of deer during these hunts, including: A deer which died of fractured ribs Two deer which died from ruptured aortic aneurisms A deer which drowned in a quarry A deer which dropped dead after desperately trying to escape over an 8ft wall A deer "accidentally choked" to death while being recaptured A deer hanging by its front leg on barbed wire A deer, having run 8 miles in 90 minutes, with a lather of white foam around its muzzle Deer suffering from "lameness" and "skin abrasions" We earnestly appeal to Minister Gormley to stand firm against the Ward Union bullies, and their backers in the Fianna Fail cabinet, and bring an end to the suffering of these vulnerable animals. With top legal experts now confirming that this hunt is illegal, the time has never been better for Minister Gormley to act. ACTION ALERT 1 Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to stop carted deer hunt cruelty by firmly refusing a licence to the Ward Union. Sample Letter (If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.) Minister John Gormley Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Custom House, Dublin 1. Email: minister@environ.ie Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640. Dear Minister Gormley, Further to the opinion expressed in the current issue of the Irish Law Times that the Ward Union hunt is illegal under current animal protection legislation, I again urge you to refuse a licence to this deplorable hunt. Considering the suffering caused to animals by the hunt, the commitment expressed by the Green Party that it would ban blood sports when in government and now this compelling legal opinion, I trust you will not hesitate to bring carted deer hunting to an end. PLEASE REFUSE A LICENCE TO THE WARD UNION. Thank you. I eagerly await your positive response. Thank you and best wishes. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] ACTION ALERT 2 Please contact your local TD and Senator and ask them to make an appeal to Minister Gormley on your behalf. For the names of your TDs, please click on your county on the Irish Government website (http://www.oireachtas.ie/members%2Dhist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=30&disp=const) Contact your TD at: Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337889 (1890 DEPUTY). For a list of Senators, please visit the Irish Government website (http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=24&disp=mem) Contact your Senator at: Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623 (1890 SEANAD). Sample Letter (If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.) Dear [Deputy] or [Senator], I am writing to ask you to please spare a few minutes to view an Irish Council Against Blood Sports slideshow which exposes the cruel activities of the Ward Union carted deer hunt. This revealing presentation, which features extracts from a damning Department of Agriculture report, can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn5ZG8fyRbM I trust that you will agree that this appalling blood sport has no place in modern Ireland. Please save the deer from the suffering caused by carted deer hunting by joining the widespread calls on Minister John Gormley to ban this hunt which eminent legal experts say is illegal under Irish legislation. Thank you. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Videos: Carted deer hunting cruelty Slideshow - Ward Union Duration: 04:06 Ban the Ward Union Duration: 00:30 Carted deer hunting Duration: 04:51   Photos: carted deer hunting cruelty A deer, drenched in sweat, stands weakly in the Ward Union's livestock trailer at the end of a gruelling cross-country chase. Please ask your local TDs and Senators to save deer from this cruel blood sport Ward Union "deer handlers" wrestle the deer head-first into the ground at the end of a hunt. Animals are at great risk during this merciless move and at least one has been choked to death. At the end of a hunt, one of the Ward Union hunt's "deer handlers" prevents an exhausted and injured deer from escaping by grabbing hold of its mouth and ear. Another handler attempts to hide the head injury by holding his hand over it. The Ward Union's "deer handlers" surround an exhausted and injured deer at the end of a hunt and grab hold of its body to prevent it from escaping. Ward Union hunt members push and pull the injured deer back towards the deer cart at the end of a hunt. More information about carted deer hunting Carted deer hunting: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition News Menu | Join | Top | Home