Ireland is still a cruel country - Maureen O'Sullivan TD
06 March 2014

In a speech in Dail Eireann this week, ICABS President Maureen O'Sullivan TD has declared that with hare coursing, foxhunting and digging-out still permitted, Ireland is still a cruel country when it comes to animals.

In the March 4th statement on the government's priorities for the year ahead, Deputy O'Sullivan outlined that despite the recent Animal Health and Welfare Bill (which contains exemptions for coursing and hunting), Ireland is "still a cruel country when it comes to our treatment of animals".

She stated: "We see that with the hare coursing - we're one of the very few countries to continue to allow that - because of injuries to both hares and greyhounds. We have the digging out of foxes - even [some] people who are foxhunters think that is cruel. We see serious neglect of horses. And even though there is a ban on stag hunting, it is blatantly being ignored. The badger [snaring] issue, animals in circuses, another fur farm has opened up, vivisection."

She went on to highlight the harrassment, physical assault and threats suffered by some of those peacefully protesting against cruelty, noting that "there is inactivity on the part of the Gardai when they bring up those issues."

Watch the extract above from Maureen's speech or see it in its entirety at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL8Wci9Z61Q

Visit Maureen O'Sullivan's website at http://www.maureenosullivan.ie and follow her on Twitter at @MaureenOSTD

Videos: Ireland's Animal Cruelty