Minister urged to revoke deer hunt licence 20 February 2008 The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling on Environment Minister, John Gormley, to urgently revoke the licence he issued to the Ward Union carted deer hunt in December. Our appeal comes in the wake of the High Court's granting of an injunction to the hunt, preventing the Minister from imposing the conditions that disallowed them from using dogs to chase the deer and forced them to capture the deer before unleashing the pack. The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has always contended that this hunt is illegal and should never have been licensed under the Wildlife Act, because the deer hunted by the Ward Union are farmed deer, not wild animals, and therefore not subject to the Wildlife Act. This contention has been borne out in a legal opinion which 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 -see Hunt is illegal, say eminent legal experts Please join our urgent appeal to Minister Gormley. URGENT ACTION ALERT Urgently contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to immediately revoke the licence he issued to the Ward Union in December. 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, I am writing to urge you to immediately revoke the licence granted to the Ward Union hunt last December. The captive bred, domesticated deer used by the hunt are protected animals under the Protection of Animals Act and may not be legally hounded by hunters. It is contrary to existing legislation to licence the activities of this hunt. As a Green Party Minister opposed to blood sports, I trust that you will do everything in your power to prevent the Ward Union from resuming their terrorisation of deer. Please urgently revoke the licence and refuse further licences to this cruel hunt which a majority of people in County Meath and many more around Ireland and the world want stopped. Thank you. I look forward to your response. 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