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Near FM interview with woman whose garden was invaded by foxhounds
21 November 2018
The savagery of blood sports: Listen to a Near FM interview with Macroom resident Niamh Hodge whose garden was invaded by a pack of hounds last St Stephen's Day. The hounds cornered a fox in the garden and ripped him apart.
Huntsman John McSweeney - who initially denied that the fox was killed by the hunt's dogs - appeared at Macroom District Court this month charged under Section 9 of the Control of Dogs Act. After admitting to the offences, McSweeney was ordered to pay €1,000 to the poor box or reappear in court next month. Read more at https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/1937748583007357?__tn__=K-R
The housing estate where the fox was killed is just one mile away from Agriculture Minister Michael Creed's constituency office. Despite being aware of the disgusting cruelty of foxhunting, Minister Creed shamefully refuses to ban the bloodsport. Please help bring foxhunting to an end in Ireland - respond to the action alert below.
ACTION ALERT
Sign our "Ban Blood Sports in Ireland" petition
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland
Demand an immediate ban on hunting with hounds in Ireland. Contact the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) now.
An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1-6194020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie
Tweet to: @campaignforLeo
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campaignforleo/
Tanaiste Simon Coveney TD
Iveagh House, 80 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 (0)1 408 2000
Email: simon.coveney@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SimonCoveney
Tweet to: @simoncoveney
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture to remove an exemption for foxhunting from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Michael Creed TD
Minister for Agriculture
Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: michael.creed@oir.ie
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelcreedtd
Tweet to: @creedcnw
Please contact all your local politicians and ask them to push for a ban on foxhunting. Encourage your friends, family and workmates to contact them too. Visit the Oireachtas website for names of TDs and their email addresses http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=32&disp=mem
PREVIOUSLY...
Hungry for answers after fox's death
Irish Mail on Sunday, 7th January 2018.
The Department of Agriculture is investigating the killing of a fox allegedly attacked by a pack of hounds in a Cork housing estate on St Stephen's Day, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.
It comes after a report in last week's MoS which revealed that a large pack of hunting dogs chased a fox into the back garden of homeowner Niamh Hodge in Macroom, and savaged it to death.
The housing estate adjoins a field where the Macroom Foxhounds Hunt was taking place that day. Our report was followed up by RTE and radio stations in Cork, with many horrified callers condemning the killing as 'cruel'.
A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture told the MoS that the department is 'concerned' at the incident in Macroom, which occurred in Minister Michael Creed's constituency, and has ordered an investigation.
In a statement, the spokesman said: 'There is a detailed code of conduct in place in respect of the hunting of foxes which places responsibility on hunting associations to ensure that hunting is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. The department is aware of and concerned at the reported incident in Macroom and is investigating the matter.'
Gardai have begun a separate investigation following a complaint from Niamh Hodge.
But huntsman John McSweeney, who denies that their dogs killed the fox, refused to comment on the controversy this weekend.
by Niamh Walsh
Keep hunters off your land
If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners Page.
Encourage all land-owning friends and family members in the countryside to show compassion and make their land a haven for wildlife. If hunters are denied access to land, the resident wildlife will be spared the suffering of foxhunting.
If trespass occurs, contact the Gardai. Obtain photo/video evidence whenever possible.
