|
|
This St Patrick's Day, celebrate Ireland's wildlife heritage
14 March 2008 This St Patrick's Day, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling on Ireland to celebrate our fabulous wildlife heritage. We are asking people to become more active in the campaign against the blood sports which result in Irish animals being cruelly abused and killed throughout the countryside. ICABS wishes all its friends and supporters a Happy St Patrick's Day. To find out how you can help bring blood sports to an end in Ireland, please visit the Join ICABS page. During the St Patrick's Day weekend, please also spare a few minutes to respond to our urgent action alerts below. Send a copy of the action alerts to your friends and ask them to get involved. Thank you.
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland - Urgent Action Alert Please contact your local TD and Senator and ask them to support the campaign against blood sports in Ireland. Demand that they act urgently to protect our wildlife heritage from the appalling acts of cruelty from hunters and coursers. For the names of your TDs, please click on your county on the Irish Government website
Contact your TD at:
For a list of Senators, please visit the Irish Government website
Contact your Senator at:
Stand up for Irish Foxes - Action Alert 1 Please make a special appeal to Trevor Sargent TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture where new animal welfare legislation is currently being drafted. ICABS welcomed a statement from Minister Sargent last year in which he assured us that the new legislation will "ensure that the welfare of animals is properly protected". Please appeal to him to prioritise fox protection in the new act.
Trevor Sargent TD
Dear Minister Sargent, As one of the two thirds majority of Irish people who want foxhunting banned, I appeal to you to please ensure that foxes are afforded full protection from hunting groups in the new animal welfare legislation being drafted. Please do everything in your power to finally bring foxhunting to an end and protect foxes from this horrendous abuse. Thank you. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Stand up for Irish Foxes - Action Alert 2 Urge the Minister for Agriculture to protect foxes and all wild creatures from unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Dear Minister Coughlan, I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to save foxes from the barbarism of foxhunting. This blood sport is an abhorrent assault on our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Please ensure that Ireland's new animal welfare legislation includes protection for foxes. Thank you. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Stand up for Irish Foxes - Action Alert 3 Please urgently appeal to your local politicians Please join us in telling all of Ireland's TDs that it is now time to replace foxhunting with the humane alternative - drag hunting. Drag hunting sees the hounds chasing an artificial lure instead of a live animal. This form of "hunting" is already practised successfully by a few groups in Ireland. In a modern and civilised country like Ireland, there should be no place for foxhunting, particularly when a transition to drag hunting would be simple. Please stand up for the foxes so cruelly abused by hunting groups - write to all of your local politicians and ask them to act to secure a ban on foxhunting. If possible, get your friends, family and workmates to contact them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible.
Write to your TD at:
Write to your Senator at:
For the names and contact details of politicians, please visit the Irish Government Website - http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist. Stand up for Irish Foxes - Action Alert 4 Contact Ireland's forestry board, Coillte, and demand an end to foxhunting on its property. 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.)
Mr. David Gunning
Email: pr@coillte.ie
Dear Mr Gunning, As an Irish citizen, and thereby a shareholder in Coillte, I am writing to demand an end to foxhunting on Coillte property. I understand that Coillte currently issues permits to a number of foxhunts to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the appalling cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish people want it outlawed, the time has come for Coillte to do the decent thing and make all of its property off limits to foxhunting groups. Thank you. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Stand up for the Irish Hare - Action Alert
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to give a commitment that he will not issue another licence to the Irish Coursing Club.
Sample Letter
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
Dear Minister Gormley, I am writing to implore you to firmly reject future licence applications from the Irish Coursing Club. Hare coursing is Ireland's most appalling animal abuse with thousands of hares being ripped from their natural habitat and forced to run for their lives before muzzled dogs. When hit, the injuries are often so severe that the terrified hare has to be destroyed - but only after suffering from stress and severe internal injuries or broken bones. In its pre-election manifesto, the Green Party pledged to ban blood sports when in government. I am among the confident majority who trust that you will take this historic opportunity, Minister, to spare the hares the suffering caused by coursing and refuse further licences to these heartless destroyers of our wildlife heritage. Thank you and best wishes. Yours sincerely, Name/Location Stand up for the deer - Action Alert Urgently contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to immediately revoke the licence he issued to the Ward Union carted deer hunt in December.
Sample Letter
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
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]
Video: Ban Foxhunting in Ireland
Video: Hare coursing cruelty in Ireland
Video: Ban the Ward Union Deer Hunt
More information about blood sports
Foxhunting: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition
Make a donation to ICABS
Please consider making a small donation to ICABS. For more details, please click on the button below or
follow this link to find out how to become a campaign supporter. Thank you.
|
