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Sinn Fein won't support any reversal of hunting ban
15 November 2011
Sinn Fein Senator, Trevor O Clochartaigh, has confirmed that the party "will not be supporting the repeal of the ban on stag hunting". He said that Sinn Fein "consider stag hunting to be a bloodsport [that] causes the infliction of cruelty to animals".
ICABS welcomes this statement from the Galway Senator who is on the Seanad's Agricultural Panel. We are continuing to call on Sinn Fein to also recognise that foxhunting and hare coursing are cruel and to support a ban on these bloodsports.
Earlier this month, Fine Gael dismissed a suggestion by Meath TD, Shane McEntee, that the hunt would be back. A spokesperson for Enda Kenny made it clear that "there is no such commitment in the Programme for Government" and that the Taoiseach "would not resile from what's in the Programme for Government."
The Labour Party has also stressed on several occasions that it would not support a reversal of the widely welcomed ban.
Carted stag hunting was outlawed last year after a majority of TDs voted in favour of the then Environment Minister John Gormley's Wildlife Amendment Bill 2010.
"No commitment" to reversing staghunt ban
08 November 2011
A spokesperson for An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has stated that there is "no commitment" to reversing the widely welcomed ban on the Ward Union hunt. Speaking to the Irish Independent, the spokesperson dismissed a claim by Junior Minister, Shane McEntee that the hunt "will be back".
In the report by Political Editor, Fionnan Sheahan, the Taoiseach's spokesperson says:
The article goes on to quote a spokesman for Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan as saying "No, there isn't (a plan). There is no legislation in the pipeline."
Also quoted is a spokesperson for An Tanaiste, Eamon Gilmore. "There is no plan to revisit the issue," he stated.
ICABS greatly welcomes this confirmation that the Ward Union ban will remain in place in line with the majority view that the terrorisation of deer for "sport" is cruel and unacceptable. We are now renewing our call on the government to introduce a ban on the bloodsports of foxhunting and hare coursing.
You can read the full Irish Independent article at
www.independent.ie/national-news/kenny-rules-out-reversing-staghunt-ban-2927998.html
ACTION ALERT
Please contact An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, An Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore and Minister Jimmy Deenihan and welcome the confirmation that the Ward Union ban will not be reversed. Urge them to take action to protect foxes, hares and other creatures from the cruelty of blood sports.
Enda Kenny, An Taoiseach
Department of the Taoiseach
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
Tel: 01-619 4020 / 619 4021 / 619 4043
Fax: 01-6764048
Eamon Gilmore TD
Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade
Dail Eireann, Dublin 2
Tel: 01 6183566 (Dail)
Fax: 01 6184574
Mobile: 087 2200495
Email: eamon.gilmore@oir.ie; tanaiste@dfa.ie
Minister Jimmy Deenihan
Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Email: ministersoffice@tcs.gov.ie
[with a copy to taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie - An Taoiseach]
Tel: (01) 631 3802
Fax: (01) 661 1201
ICABS assured that Labour does not support ban reversal
21 April 2011
The personal assistant to An Tanaiste, Eamon Gilmore, has reiterated that the Labour Party "do not support reversal of the ban" on the cruel Ward Union deerhunt.
In an email to ICABS on April 19th, the assistant also emphasised that "the Programme for Government contains no commitment to reverse the ban on stag hunting."
ICABS welcomes this latest reassurance from the office of the Labour Party leader, Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Eamon Gilmore and welcome his statement. Urge him and his party colleagues to push for bans on foxhunting and hare coursing while in government.
Eamon Gilmore TD
Labour Party Leader
Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade
Dail Eireann
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 6183566 (Dail)
Fax: 01 6184574
Mobile: 087 2200495
Email: eamon.gilmore@oir.ie
For details of Labour Party TDs, please visit www.labour.ie/people/listing.html and choose TDs in the "Find By Category" dropdown list.
The Labour Party
17 Ely Place
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 678 4700
Fax: 01 661 2640
Email: info@labour.ie
Website: www.labour.ie
Socialist Party will oppose any attempt to bring back hunt
15 April 2011
Socialist Party TD, Clare Daly, has said that the party is in favour of a ban on hare coursing and will oppose any attempt to bring back stag hunting in Ireland.
"We in the Socialist Party oppose stag hunting and the inherent cruelty of hunting animals purely for human enjoyment," Deputy Daly stated in an email. "We will oppose any attempt to overturn the ban from within the Dail."
She added: "We also support the banning of hare coursing and we would be in favour of legislation which aimed to do so."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports welcomes this positive statement as we continue to press all parties to support legislation banning blood sports.
Socialist Party TD, Joe Higgins has previously called on the Environment Minister to refuse licences for coursing. "I am opposed to the hunting of foxes by hounds as indeed I am opposed to live hare coursing," Deputy Higgins is on record as saying.
Deer hunt "will be back" - Shane McEntee
04 November 2011
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is deeply concerned at a statement from Minister for State, Dept. of Agriculture, Shane McEntee, that "the time is coming shortly when the Ward Union will be back under the legislation introduced by Michael D. Higgins in 1996." His remarks came during a Senate debate on the Greyhound Welfare Bill on October 25th, 2011.
The cruel Ward Union deer hunt was banned in the summer of 2010, after a 20-year campaign by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and other animal welfare groups. Fine Gael, in their election manifesto, stated that they would reverse the ban on the hunt, but Labour leader Eamon Gilmore is on public record as stating that Labour would not support this.
We call on the Labour Party to trenchantly resist all moves by Fine Gael to reinstate this cruel hunt, whereby a vulnerable deer is brought out into the Meath countryside and hounded around by a pack of dogs, followed by riders on horseback, leaving it at risk of injury and even death.
We know from official National Parks monitoring reports on this hunt that deer have died from choking, drowning, motor accidents, and aneurisms from the stress of the chase. The hunt also posed a clear risk to motorists with deer being chased along roads and into the paths of vehicles.
It would be an utterly shameful move for Fine Gael to reverse the widely welcomed ban on the Ward Union deer hunt. Ireland's record in legislating against cruelty to animals is dismal, and were it not for the Green Party, a ban on the Ward Union would not have been achieved. We now lag far behind our neighbours in Northern Ireland who, back in 1997, stopped the County Down deer hunt and recently banned hare coursing.
Update: Please see "Hunting lobby to press FG on promise to lift stag hunt ban"
www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/1104/1224307038495.html
(Irish Times, November 4th, 2011)
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Please contact Labour Party leader, Eamon Gilmore, and urge him to halt any attempt by Fine Gael to reverse the Ward Union ban.
Eamon Gilmore TD
Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade
Dail Eireann, Dublin 2
Tel: 01 6183566 (Dail)
Fax: 01 6184574
Mobile: 087 2200495
Email: eamon.gilmore@oir.ie; tanaiste@dfa.ie
Contact Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, and demand that he keeps the Ward Union ban in place.
Enda Kenny, An Taoiseach
Department of the Taoiseach
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
Tel: 01-619 4020 / 619 4021 / 619 4043
Fax: 01-6764048
We need as many people as possible to urgently contact TDs all around Ireland, asking them to block any attempt to bring back the Ward Union.
Find out the names of your TDs and their email addresses
Write to your TD at:
Video: Carted deer hunting cruelty
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follow this link to find out how to become a campaign supporter. Thank you.
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Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337 889.
The cruel Ward Union hunt: Banned
