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NPWS trappers to kill foxes, crows and shoot mink through their brains
22 February 2013
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has announced that a six month mink killing operation will begin next week. The body is spending funds on employing trappers despite an earlier admission that "escapes from mink fur farms would invalidate any attempts to eradicate feral populations". Foxes and crows are also to be targetted up to the end of July and throughout September.
A report in the Irish Examiner (February 22nd, 2013) outlines that "the mink will be captured in live traps set close to the nesting sites of protected birds" and that trappers have been instructed to kill the mink "humanely".
According to a 2009 NPWS report, mink caught in traps are subsequently killed by a shot through their brains. It stated that "well placed shots through the front of the skull above the nose destroyed their brains".
The report - "A review of mink predation and control for Ireland" - also made it clear that as long as Ireland’s shameful fur farms remain, attempting to control mink is a waste of time and money. The report states: "It must also be noted that several mink farms operate across the Republic of Ireland. Escapes from these will continue to threaten the wildlife of Ireland, by adding to the feral population, even if the feral population is managed. Escapes from fur farms would also invalidate any attempts to eradicate feral populations."
ICABS has renewed its appeal to the government to ban fur farming which was outlawed a decade ago in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
ACTION ALERT
Demand a ban on fur farming in Ireland. Email Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney now.
Email: Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 01-607 2884 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01 661 1013 and 021 437 4862
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Minister Coveney,
I support a total ban on fur farming and an immediate closure of Ireland's fur farms.
In these hellholes, animals suffer a horrendous life of misery before being cruelly gassed to death. There is absolutely no justification for the continuation of this cruelty.
Please ban fur farming now.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
Send a copy of your correspondence to An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and An Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore. Ask them to show compassion for animals and back a ban on fur farming.
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny
Department of the Taoiseach,
Telephone: 01-6194020
An Tanaiste, Eamon Gilmore
Office of the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Tel: 01 6183566 (Dail) or 01 408 2000 (Iveagh House)
Email Both: eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie;taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
Video: Witness the cruelty of fur farming in Ireland
Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney says he won't be banning fur farming in Ireland
Watch the video at http://youtu.be/YQPD3AQ3Fq4?t=1m30s
Dail Q&A: Fur farming won't be banned in Ireland
Animal Voice, December 2012
ICABS President, Maureen O'Sullivan TD, has again urged the Minister for Agriculture to ban fur farming.
In a Dail question this month, she asked: "In view of the fact that the ban on fur farming is going through the Dutch Parliament, Holland, being the third biggest for mink fur farming in the world, and Germany phasing out fur farming by 2016, if he will consider the phasing out of fur farming here."
Minister Coveney's very disappointing reply from 18th December is as follows:
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine: (Simon Coveney) Late last year, I established a Review Group in my Department to review all aspects of fur farming taking into account existing legislative provisions for the licensing of mink farming.
The Group, in compiling its report, considered submissions received from a variety of organisations and individuals opposed to fur-farming and also from businesses and individuals, many of whom are involved with fur farming and who consider it a legitimate business activity. The Group also met with a number of parties and individuals who made submissions to the Review.
I have given careful consideration to the series of recommendations contained in the report and I accept the recommendation not to ban fur farming. However, I realise that it is essential that operators adopt best practice and embrace developments with respect to improved methods and systems for the farming of mink. I am therefore putting in place enhanced veterinary and agricultural inspections, including unannounced inspections. I am also providing for the adoption of Codes of Practice by fur farmers to help them adapt the highest standards of animal husbandry and provide practical assistance for breeding and rearing of animals.
I acknowledge that some find fur farming unacceptable but to simply outlaw a legitimate farming activity practised in many member states, no matter how small the number involved, could involve substantial financial compensation for existing operators for the loss of their livelihood. Funds are not at my disposal for this purpose and prohibiting fur farming would simply transfer this economically viable industry to other fur producing countries with less stringent regulatory systems.
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