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Fianna Fail Councillor Shane Cassells conveys majority support for ban
28 June 2010
Meath Councillor, Shane Cassells, has stated that a majority of people in his constituency are in favour of a ban on the Ward Union hunt. The Fianna Fail politician is a member of Meath County Council and Navan Town Council, Youth Officer for Fianna Fail in Meath and a former mayor of Navan. ICABS welcomes his statement and has thanked him for voting against a pro-blood sports motion last month.
In an email to ICABS, Cllr Cassells commented: "I firmly believe that the majority of Meath people are in favour of seeing the pursuit of live deer banned."
"I was very pleased to speak out against the mistruths which the RISE campaign are using to try and advance their cause," he added.
ICABS applauds Cllr Cassells for speaking out against RISE misinformation and for acknowledging the majority view in Meath that the Ward Union hunt is unacceptable and should be banned.
Video: Carted deer hunting cruelty
View More Videos exposing the cruelty of carted deer hunting and other blood sports.
Meath Councillors "should be ashamed of themselves"
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has strongly criticised the Meath County Councillors who voted in favour of a motion supporting stag hunting. "They should be ashamed of themselves," stated ICABS spokesperson Aideen Yourell. "They do not represent the views of the vast majority of Meath people who are opposed to the Ward Union."
According to a report in the Meath Topic newspaper (20 May 2010), "all but three members of Meath County Council voted to support a motion in support of the RISE campaign in support of stag hunting and calling on the government 'to listen to the concerns being expressed, involve stakeholders in full consultation and to respond appropriately'."
Reacting to the vote, ICABS condemned the councillors' stance. "They clearly have no compassion for a vulnerable farmed deer pursued around the countryside by a pack of hounds followed by people on horseback for 'sport'," we stated.
The views of these councillors don't represent the majority view in the county. According to an opinion poll, around two thirds of people in Meath are opposed to the Ward Union.
ICABS applauds the three councillors who voted against the motion. These compassionate councillors are:
Cllr Noel Leonard
ACTION ALERT
Thank Cllrs Leonard, Cassells and Fegan for voting against the motion - Email a message to the Cllrs now
If you reside in County Meath, express your disappointment to your local councillors who voted in favour of the motion. You can find out their names and contact details at www.meath.ie
See also: I support ban on Ward Union: Fianna Fail Cllr Noel Leonard
The Facts About Carted Deer Hunting
Carted deer hunting is a cruel “sport” which causes horrific suffering to defenceless red deer. It subjects the deer - captive bred specifically for the abuse - to a distressing ordeal, leaving them exhausted, injured and severely at risk of dying from heart failure.
The red deer used are taken from a herd which is privately owned by the Ward Union hunt. This hunt is based in Dunshaughlin, County Meath.
Every Tuesday and Friday between November and mid-March, two deer (stags or hinds) are taken out in a cart to a hunt location. They have their antlers sawn off to prevent injuries being caused to the dogs and the manhandlers who wrestle them to the ground at the end of each hunt.
One deer is turned out of the trailer, and forced to run. The other is kept as a spare in case the first deer is caught too soon.
During the hunt, the deer is at risk of sustaining injuries as it frantically tries to outrun the horseback riders and the pack of dogs. Being in unfamiliar terrain, the deer has an extremely hazardous route ahead.
Crashing through hedges, over walls, across busy public roads and even into lakes and rivers, the terrified creature does everything it can to stay ahead.
A Department of Agriculture Veterinary Inspector who monitored a Ward Union hunt wrote: “One stag was seen attempting to jump a very high fence and getting his front leg caught on a top strand of barbed wire and hanging, thus suspended, for some seconds before his struggles and/or weight tore him free.”
He also outlined how a stag “having run at least 8 miles in 90 minutes showed extreme physical distress, panting through its mouth and with a lather of white foam around its muzzle.” Reported fatalities highlighted how one deer died of an aneurism while another was “accidentally” choked to death during capture.
In a suppressed 1997 document (only obtained by ICABS in Autumn 2003), another Department of Agriculture Veterinary Inspector concluded that the deerhunt was “inhumane”.
Yet, no action was taken to stop the hunt which, we contend, is in breach of the 1911 Protection of Animals Act.
ICABS continues to call for a complete ban on this barbarism which surely should have no place in a civilised society.
We have appealed to the Minister for Agriculture, who is well aware of the cruelty involved, to follow the example of her counterparts in Northern Ireland who outlawed a similar hunt, the County Down Staghounds, in 1997. It was ruled that the deer used by that carted deer hunt were domestic animals and thus covered by animal welfare legislation.
The cruelty of carted deer hunting
The following list conveys just some of the cruelty of carted deer hunting and the suffering caused to the deer.
"The transportation of the stags in the cart is inhumane in its manner and in the design of the cart. The enlargement of the stags is inhumane in that they are ejected suddenly into a strange environment and alone. A stag which has been hunted previously appears, before the hunt starts, to be distressed and aware that he is about to be hunted again. Stags being hunted appear to be terrified of the hounds. A stag is aware when he is being hunted and continues to flee even when the hounds are far behind. Stags are sometimes wounded or injured during hunts by physical incidents or by the hounds. Stags are terrified by people and motor vehicles during the hunt. Stags are apparently distressed and exhausted towards the end of hunts and will hide and lie down at this stage. At the end of the hunt the fact that a man can catch and hold him would seem to be adequate evidence of physical exhaustion by the stag. The handling of the stag when taken at the end of a hunt must be terrifying and stressful to the animal." (Kane Report)
"Nervousness of stags in the cart prior to hunts was variable...with some appearing very nervous or stressed. At one hunt it was notable that of the two stags in the cart, one which had been hunted previously was showing body tremors, excessive salivation and panting."
"A farmer who saw, at very close range, the stag at bay on 7th February told me that it was bleeding from one leg; also I was informed by Hunt staff that some stags are given antibiotic treatment after hunts if they have injuries such as wounds or swollen limbs." (Kane Report)
"On two hunts on which the route of the stag was traced well on a half inch map, it was calculated that one stag had run at least 8 miles and the other at least 12 miles." (Kane Report)
"A stag which has been hunted before is, presumably, aware that he is about to be followed by hounds and runs from fear: indeed it is notable that the stag runs although the hounds are not yet on his trail. In the early stages of the hunt the stag runs constantly but as the hunt progresses he may stop running and hide or even lie down and it is at this stage that the hounds may catch up with him." (Kane Report)
"A major hazard encountered by stags is barbed wire. One stag was seen attempting to jump a very fence and getting his front leg caught on a top strand of barbed wire and hanging, thus suspended, for some seconds before his struggles and/or weight tore him free." (Kane Report)
"Stags are frightened by people and motor vehicles when they cross public roads, which they frequently do during hunts.
"A stag observed, down to 30 yards range through binoculars, having run at least 8 miles in 90 minutes showed extreme physical distress, panting through its mouth and with a lather of white foam around its muzzle." (Kane Report)
"I was informed by two eye-witnesses that hounds, although chary of a stag at bay, will attempt to bite him." (Kane Report)
"Stags are hunted until about 9 years of age at which time they may get "stiff" or fail in condition and I was told that they are then sold or exchanged with commercial deer farms or slaughtered for venison." (Kane Report)
"Domesticated Red Deer are obviously completely unfit for a prolonged chase by hounds. A recent scientific report in England has concluded that wild Red Deer are physiologically unable for a prolonged chase by hounds." (Kane Report)
Print and distribute this leaflet
Please print out this leaflet and distribute among friends and family. Thank you.
More information about carted deer hunting
Carted deer hunting: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition
02 June 2010
Cllr Shane Cassells
Cllr Jimmy Fegan
Exhausted and injured: At the end of the hunt, the deer is dragged back to the hunt's trailer. It will be abused again in a future hunt.
Desperate to escape, a deer slips and falls as the hounds close in.
A deer with its antlers cut off nervously waits for the hunt to begin.
"In January 1999, Irish Council Against Blood Sports monitors obtained the first ever photographic and video evidence of the cruelty of the Ward Union carted deer hunt. Available to view in the videos and gallery pages of www.banbloodsports.com, it shows a terrified and exhausted stag, having been pursued across countryside for one and a half hours and cornered in a field by a pack of hounds. An ICABS cameraman raced to the scene and managed to film the terrified stag under pressure from hounds and being bitten. A number of hunt supporters manhandled the stag to the ground, and the exhausted animal with blood on its mouth and its tongue hanging out, was dragged away down a laneway through a farmyard and pushed into a cart." (Irish Council Against Blood Sports report, 1999)
During a Ward Union hunt in December 2009, a hunted deer jumped on to a road, was struck by a car, smashed into its windscreen and suffered a broken leg. The animal was put down. The occupants of the car were left badly shaken according to a relative speaking on RTE's Liveline radio show. The Irish Times of December 19, 2009 reported on the collision as follows "An incident occurred last Friday week which will only strengthen Gormley’s view that it should be banned. At 1.30pm a stag collided with the windscreen of a car on the Slane-to- Ashbourne road near Ashbourne. The animal broke a leg and was put down."
On 25 November 2008, a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger monitoring the Ward Union hunt reported that he was forced to "brake hard" to avoid a collision with a hunted deer. The ranger said he "narrowly avoided killing" the animal.
In a veterinary report submitted to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, a veterinary surgeon monitoring a hunt at Scurlogstown, County Meath during the 2006-07 season, reveals that a deer "died as a result of 'dry drowning' having fallen into a quarry." The vet mentioned other deer that suffered injuries during the season. Five deer had "slight lameness" and two had "skin abrasions", he said.
In an official report dealing with the 2004-05 Ward Union season (obtained by ICABS under the Freedom of Information Act), details are provided about an 8-year-old deer that dropped dead after trying to escape. The death occurred after the creature was hunted for approximately one and a half hours. The following provides a harrowing glimpse into the deer's final minutes of life... "the stag...jumped over a 5 foot in height wall into the cottage garden, following which 3 nominated handlers entered the garden through a side gate. The stag, in full view of two of the handlers then attempted to escape from the garden by attempting unsuccessfully to scale a higher wall (approximately 8-9 feet high) before being captured on his feet by the three nominated handlers...The stag was held for approximately five minutes by the handlers as they waited for the deer cart to arrive, following which he suddenly dropped dead...The cause of death was due to a ruptured aorta."
A report in the Irish Times revealed that a stag being pursued by the Ward Union hunt was forced to swim across the River Boyne in a desperate bid to escape. The stag went into the river near Navan during a hunt on December 30th 2008 during a chase involving "50 huntsmen and huntswomen on horseback, in addition to some Ward Union staff...and a pack of hounds". (from "Stag escapes from Meath hunters by swimming river", Irish Times, December 31, 2008)
A farmer who phoned in to RTE's Liveline show following the chasing of a Ward Union deer into a school playground, said he had never before seen "an animal so shook looking". "I pitied him," the farmer said. "He was covered in a lather of sweat and his tongue was hanging out." When he questioned the hunt about their behaviour, he said they told him to "F*** off." (Liveline Radio Show, RTE, January 2007)
A Ward Union deer was choked to death in a wood, the Irish Farmers Journal has revealed. The death occurred at the end of a hunt and is one of the fatalities caused by the Ward Union "over the last few years", the newspaper reported. (From a report highlighted on the Irish Council Against Blood Sports website, 2007)
Two deer were hounded to their deaths by the Ward Union hunt during the 2004-05 season. The deer deaths were recorded in a Department of Agriculture report obtained by ICABS under the Freedom of Information Act. A veterinary inspector from the Department highlighted in the report how one deer died from fractured ribs while another died from a ruptured aortic aneurism.
According to a Department of Agriculture report obtained by ICABS, a deer hounded by the Ward Union Deerhunt died when recaptured at the end of a hunt. Following a post mortem, it was found that the deer had died from a ruptured aneurism. The report concluded that it was "most likely that the physiological stress of hunting led to the rupture". (From an article in ICABS newsletter, Animal Watch, Issue 1, 2003)
A report from a Department of Agriculture Veterinary Inspector revealed that a deer "accidentally choked" while being captured.
"As a young Irish man living in Dunshaughlin County Meath in the 1950's as a groom, I saw many a deer put down after breaking his back as a result of having to make a jump because the hounds were at its heels. I can honestly say it was not a pretty sight. Whilst at home a few years ago the hunt came by and to see the reaction of the huntsmen on the Dublin / Navan road galloping up and down was unbelievable." (From a comment on the Irish Times website, Joe Dowd, United Kingdom, December 2009)
The quotes in this section are extracts from the Kane Report on the Ward Union The conclusions of Veterinary Inspector, Kieran Kane are utterly damning of the Ward Union...
In December 2003, ICABS monitors filmed and photographed a Ward Union deer at the end a hunt. The injured animal was seen panting for breath. There was blood on its head. Photos taken on the day can be viewed in our Gallery Page, including this one showing an injured deer with blood on its head
"Of course the stag suffers. I saw the hounds attack the hind quarters of the legs of the poor, unfortunate animal. It's horrific to see the end of the hunt." (Fianna Fail Meath Councillor, Noel Leonard, on his opposition to the Ward Union hunt, Meath Chronicle, 9th January 2010)
The Facts About Carted Deer Hunting - Download Now (pdf, 85Kb)
