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Stay away from canal: Waterways Ireland's message to hunt
20 March 2008 Waterways Ireland is to contact the Westmeath Foxhounds to tell them to stay away from the Royal Canal. The move comes after the Irish Council Against Blood Sports highlighted a report from earlier this year which revealed that the hunt's hounds chased a fox into the freezing water of the canal and along its banks. The Irish Field of 2nd February 2008 told of how "the fox and the pack swam across the canal and continued along the banks to the Mullingar/Ballynacargy Road...the fox, with four and a half couple (9 hounds) in pursuit, [then] swam the canal again before retracing their steps back to Newman's Bog." In a letter to ICABS this week, Waterways Ireland Regional Manager, John McKeown confirmed that "the Westmeath Foxhounds do not have permission from Waterways Ireland to hunt on Royal Canal property." "We carried out some local investigations and could not find evidence that horses had accessed the canal banks and no damage was observed," he added. "However, I will write to the chairman of the Westmeath Foxhounds to inform them that their horses are not permitted on canal property."
In its letter to Waterways Ireland, ICABS highlighted the threat to public safety posed by packs of hounds. We also pointed out that seeing a fox running for its life would prove distressing to legitimate canal and canal bank users. "Persecution of wildlife along the canal would surely be upsetting to the majority of those who enjoy the canal experience," we stated. ICABS is renewing its appeal to Westmeath landowners to stand up for our wildlife heritage by banning hunts from crossing their land. An increasing number of farmers are closing their property to hunts due to fears of disease spread, disturbance of livestock and damage to pastures and farm boundaries. "No Hunting" signs are now available to download from our Farmers Page About Waterways Ireland: Waterways Ireland has responsibility for the management, maintenance, development and restoration of inland navigable waterways principally for recreational purposes. The waterways under the remit of the body are the Barrow Navigation, the Erne System, the Grand Canal, the Lower Bann, the Royal, the Shannon-Erne Waterway and the Shannon Navigation. (www.waterwaysireland.org)
STAND UP FOR 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 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 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 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]
Video: Ban Foxhunting in Ireland
Videos: Drag Hunting - The humane alternative
Photos: Fox hunting cruelty Please click on the pictures to view them in full-size.
More information about blood sports
Foxhunting: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition
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