Man arrested following seizure of 2 stags in Northern Ireland
03 March 2011

The BBC has reported that a man has been arrested after the Ulster SPCA and local PSNI police seized a vehicle and trailer containing two stags which, it is believed, were about to be released for illegal carted deer hunting.

The trailer was reportedly registered to the County Down Hunt, but the hunt master said he knew nothing about the events.

According to the BBC report, for over a year the USPCA had been monitoring a group of people they believed were organising stag hunts in County Down. That surveillance led them to conclude that a hunt would start on Tuesday outside Loughbrickland. Several 4x4 vehicles, horseboxes and horse lorries were observed arriving at the location where the hunt was believed to be starting from and then leaving.

Stephen Philpott from the USPCA said he believed that there had been a conspiracy to commit an offence under the welfare of animals act.

"How can anyone else call it anything else other than cruelty," he was quoted as saying. "First of all there's the stress they suffered in the back of that box, it was pitiful. And then to put them through another 20 miles of stress being chased by dogs horses and people. It needs to be put an end to."

The stags were later released into the wild.

You can read more and watch the BBC TV news report at www.bbc.co.uk

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports congratulates the USPCA and the PSNI for this successful operation and also the BBC for highlighting it.

One of the deer seized, and later released, by the USPCA and PSNI (Image from BBC website)

Video: Carted deer hunting cruelty

Carted deerhunt cruelty is illegal in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

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