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ANIMAL VOICE - September 2003
The letter writing appeals newsletter of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports
Presented by:
In this issue:
Welcome Dear friends, Thank you for all your continued help with the ICABS letter writing appeals. Further to the “Labour leader backs hunting groups” appeal in June, we are pleased to report that Deputy Pat Rabbitte has clarified his stance on blood sports, stressing that he does not support them - "I do not support bloodsports or hare coursing," he stated, adding, "I have no difficulty with age-old rural sports like fishing, shooting etc within the terms prescribed by law. I agreed to a request to greet representatives of the two organisations in question led by an SDLP and a Unionist politician and based on a statement that, as presented to me, made no mention of bloodsports." Meanwhile, Bord Failte has responded positively to our June appeal and removed references to foxhunting from its equestrian holidays website. Many thanks to everyone who wrote to Bord Failte and told them that promoting a blood sport is unacceptable. Below you will find details of another tourist website which is currently publishing contact details for four foxhunts. Please join us in this and as many of the other campaigns below as possible. Together, we can play a part in helping to stop the suffering of animals. Thanks again for all your continued help and support. With best wishes.
Philip Kiernan
1. Go Ireland promote foxhunting on website The GoIreland.com website is currently promoting foxhunting as part of its “Things to Do and See” in Ireland section. Among the listings in the Equestrian Sports pages are the names and contact details of four foxhunts - East Galway Hunt, County Clare Hunt, the Galway Blazers and the North Galway Hunt. GoIreland.com, which describes itself as Ireland's leading tourism website, is operated by Gulliver, the national tourism information and reservations system. Gulliver is jointly owned by Bord Failte, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and financial services company, FEXCO. Please write to the owners of the company and appeal to them to follow the good example of Bord Failte and make GoIreland.com cruelty-free.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam, I wish to appeal to you to remove all references to foxhunting from the Equestrian Sports section of GoIreland.com. Foxhunting is a cruel and barbaric blood sport which the majority of Irish people wish to see being made illegal. It is certainly not an activity which should be included in any promotion of Ireland - indeed, most potential visitors to Ireland would regard this animal abuse as a blemish on our international image. I hope that GoIreland.com will follow the good example set recently by Bord Failte’s equestrian holidays website and remove all references to foxhunting. Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS 1
GoIreland.com
Tel: 1800 369 87412 Or 066 9792093 (Ireland)
Email: goireland@gulliver.ie CONTACT DETAILS 2
Brian McCarthy
Tel: + 353 (0)66 976 1258
Email: info@fexco.ie 2. Cork Catering Company’s Coursing Connection Cork catering company, Excellent Choice, was one of the sponsors at the National Hare Coursing Meeting in Clonmel in February, we have learned. According to a report in the Sporting Press newspaper, the company had “no hesitation when asked to sponsor this year's Coursing Bitch of the Year Award". It is particularly disappointing that a company who in the past has been involved with such high profile events as the Ford Cork Week, the Rose of Tralee Ball and the International Gardening Festival would associate itself with animal cruelty. Please write to the manager of the company and ask her to give a commitment that no further support will be given to coursing.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Anne Marie, I was very disappointed to learn that the Excellent Choice company sponsored the Coursing Bitch of the Year Award in February. Coursing is a cruel activity which the vast majority of Irish citizens wish to see banned - as has happened in Scotland and which looks very likely to happen in England and Wales. I call on you as manager of Excellent Choice to give a commitment that no further sponsorship will be given to this blood sport. Thank you. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS
Anne Marie Fagan
Tel: 021 4319398. Fax: 021 4319399 Email: info@excellentchoice.ie 3. Squirrel cull research being funded by Irish Government A Trinity College research project which involves an “intensive culling” of grey squirrels has received funding of over 76,000 Euro from the Irish Government. The three year long project which is due to run until December 2004 was initially brought to our attention by a member of the public in County Kildare. While out for a walk, this individual was shocked to discover a series of cages full of squirrels which were frantically trying to escape. Research carried out by ICABS revealed that the project has received the funding under the ERTDI programme which is implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Local Government. Please contact the Environmental Protection Agency and ask them not to give any further funding to projects which involve the trapping and killing of wild animals.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Dr Colgan, I was dismayed to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency has given funding in excess of 76,000 Euro to a project which involves the intensive culling of squirrels. I feel that funding research projects which involve the trapping and killing of wildlife is a wholly inappropriate use of taxpayers’ money and I call on the EPA to grant no further funding to such projects. Thank you. I look forward to your positive reply.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS
Dr Shane Colgan
Tel: +353 (0)1 268 0143
Email: s.colgan@epa.ie 4. Urgent Appeal: Leghold Traps The Galway SPCA has supplied ICABS with disturbing images of a fox which was caught in a leghold trap. The unfortunate animal got his paw caught in the crude device and was spotted dragging it after him in an attempt to escape the agony. These leghold traps (also known as gin traps) are illegal under the Wildlife Act and those caught selling them or using them are liable to prosecution. We wish to appeal to everyone to do a spot check in local shops where these traps may be illegally for sale (general stores, fishing and shooting supplies stores, hardware shops, builder providers, etc). To see what these traps look like, please visit the ICABS website at www.banbloodsports.com If you do spot one of these traps for sale, please immediately call the Gardai or your local wildlife conservation ranger. Alternatively get in touch with ICABS. 5. Appeal for end to carted deer hunt ICABS is renewing its appeal to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to refuse to grant any further licences to the Ward Union carted deer hunt. Please join us in this appeal to Minister Martin Cullen. Demand that carted deer hunting is brought to an end due to the animal cruelty involved. CONTACT DETAILS
Minister Martin Cullen
Tel: 1890 202021 (Locall).
Email: minister@environ.irlgov.ie
6. Animals and the EU Constitution
The European Convention - the body which is preparing the expansion of the EU - has so far failed to include animal protection in the European Constitution it is creating. The constitution is set to be finalised this October during an international governmental conference. EU citizens are being asked to urgently contact the heads of their governments and urge them to make sure that animal protection is included in the constitution. To lend your support to this important campaign, please visit www.animals-constitution.info/ and click on the Irish flag (or whichever flag represents your country). Then click on "Sign the Petition". Here you will be able to attach your name to a letter which will be presented to the relevant head of government. 7. Updated Appeal: Paddy Power and live hare coursing Paddy Power Bookmakers have indicated that as long as hare coursing is legal in Ireland, they will continue to accept bets on the blood sport. The statement came following an appeal by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports for the company to disassociate itself from coursing due to the inherent animal cruelty. "We offer betting on most sports where there is a public interest and coursing as a greyhound sport is popular with the betting public," stated Patrick Power in an email to ICABS. "At present we offer betting on the National [coursing] meeting at Clonmel and on the Irish Cup meeting at Tralee." ICABS is very disappointed at this response and we have this month renewed our appeal to Paddy Power Plc. The Paddy Power company has branches all over Ireland and several in London. It also operates telephone and online betting services. Please contact Paddy Power and ask that they stop helping to keep hare coursing alive by accepting bets. Tell them that it is unacceptable that they are associating themselves with a form of animal cruelty which 80 per cent of Irish people wish to see banned.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir, I am writing to ask that Paddy Power Plc ceases all involvement with the blood sport of live hare coursing. It is unacceptable that your company is defending its association with this cruel blood sport on the grounds that it is still legal in Ireland. Considering that eighty per cent of Irish adults wish to see coursing banned, I appeal to Paddy Power Plc to fully disassociate itself from this animal abuse. As you may be aware, hare coursing is illegal in Scotland and it looks likely to be outlawed in England and Wales too. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS
Mr. John O' Reilly, CEO
Tel: 1850 4144444 (Ireland), 0800 039 1800 (UK), +353 1 4049611 (Rest of World) Email: ppower@paddypower.com; support@paddypower.com 8. Renewed Appeal: BoyleSports bookmakers and live hare coursing Boylesports bookmakers are also connected to coursing. In a February edition of the Sporting Press newspaper, the company had a half-page advertisement detailing how to place bets on a coursing meeting in Kerry. CONTACT DETAILS
Alexander Mar
Tel: +353 (0) 41 9834344. Fax: +353 (0) 41 9834258 Email: alexmar@boylesports.com; customerservices@boylesports.com; dkennedy@boylesports.com; pcody@boylesports.com; amurray@boylesports.com 9. TDs/Senators - Please replace Hare Coursing with Drag Coursing
Please contact your local TDs/Senators and ask them to support the campaign against live hare coursing. A growing number of politicians are expressing their opposition to coursing. Please get in touch with your local politicians and ask them to clarify their views on this blood sport. If possible, get your friends and family to contact them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible. It’s vital to remind the politicians that eight in ten Irish people want coursing banned. For details on the names and contact details of your local politicians, please visit the “Politicians” section of the ICABS website at www.banbloodsports.com
10. Updated Appeal: Stop the badger slaughter
ICABS has produced a “Stop the Badger Snaring Slaughter” postcard aimed at Minister Joe Walsh who continues to defend his Department’s dubious TB-Eradication Scheme. The scheme has already left tens of thousands of badgers dead and this massacre looks set to continue. Please print out the ICABS postcard at www.banbloodsports.com/postcard.pdf and send it to Minister Walsh. (If you prefer, we can post you out copies of the postcard). Alternatively, write a letter to the Minister and demand an end to the snaring of badgers.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Minister Joe Walsh,
I wish to register my outrage at the slaughter of tens of thousands of badgers as part of your Department's so-called TB Eradication Scheme.
As you are aware, no scientific evidence exists to definitively link badgers to the spread of TB. In fact, this cruel experiment has been described by the UK's National Federation of Badger Groups as "slaughter masquerading as science".
Please immediately halt this unnecessary and extremely cruel massacre of badgers.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS
Joe Walsh, TD
Tel: 01-607 2892 or LoCall 1890-200 150.
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie
11. Iceland resumes killing of whales
Despite international condemnation, Iceland has resumed the killing of whales. Thirty eight Minke Whales are due to be killed during August and September because the Icelandic Government says it wants to establish “the role of whales in the marine ecosystem”.
By claiming that the whale hunt is for scientific purposes, Iceland is exploiting a loophole in the International Whaling Commission’s world-wide moratorium on commercial whaling. And the science behind the slaughter has been described by experts as being “deficient in almost every respect”. Many feel that this whale hunt - Iceland’s first since 1989 - is being used as a way of moving towards a new commercial whaling programme.
Please join us in writing to the Icelandic Government and expressing outrage at the killing of whales.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to register my outrage at Iceland’s resumption of whaling.
Your country’s inhumane slaughter of 38 Minke Whales represents a deplorable step backwards for the survival of this wonderful species.
I remain entirely unconvinced by the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries’ claims that this whale hunt is for scientific purposes and that its aim is to establish “the role of whales in the marine ecosystem”.
I appeal to the government in Iceland to spare the 38 Minke Whales from slaughter and to permanently suspend any future plans to kill these creatures.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS
Prime Minister, David Oddsson: postur@for.stjr.is
12. Kangaroo Killings - Protest to Adidas and David Beckham
According to animal welfare group, Vegetarian International Voice for Animals, the Adidas company is currently engaged in a “barbaric kangaroo slaughter” which will leave hundreds of thousands of Australian kangaroos dead. The kangaroos are being killed for leather for use in the manufacture of Adidas “Predator” football boots. Methods being used reportedly include clubbing of the animals over the head.
In a statement, Adidas stated that they have met with the government agency that regulates “the harvesting of kangaroos” and have examined current industry practices. They have also claimed that “none of the common species of kangaroo that are harvested are considered endangered animals.”
Please write to Adidas and express your concerns about the continued slaughter of kangaroos. Ask them to use a synthetic alternative to kangaroo leather - a material which Adidas itself produces. Send a copy of your letter to David Beckham who wears and promotes Adidas’s kangaroo-skin football boots.
SAMPLE LETTER
To whom it concerns,
I wish to express my concern over the slaughter, on behalf of Adidas, of hundreds of thousands of Australian kangaroos. I am particularly concerned over reports that inhumane methods are being used and that baby kangaroos are among the victims.
As you are aware, there is a humane alternative to kangaroo leather - a synthetic material which, I believe, Adidas itself actually produces. Therefore, I appeal to you to stop this unnecessary slaughter and make your Predator football boots cruelty-free.
Thank you. I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
CONTACT DETAILS 1
Ross McMullin,
Email: Consumer.Relations@adidasus.com
CONTACT DETAILS 2
David Beckham
13. Urgent: Campaign against bullfight in Lisbon’s Expo 98 complex
Bullfighters want to perform a bullfight in September in Lisbon’s Expo 98 complex according to a recent article in the Portuguese newspaper "Correio da Manh".
Previous attempts to hold bullfights at this venue met with massive opposition and were cancelled as a result. But now, the bullfighters - with the support of the City Hall of Lisbon - are again attempting to use the complex for their blood sport cruelty.
Please join this international campaign and write immediately to the management of the venue. Send copies of your letter to the City Hall and to the media in Lisbon.
SAMPLE LETTER
To whom it concerns,
I am writing to urge you to please prevent bullfighting from taking place in Lisbon’s Expo 98 complex.
I was shocked to learn that bullfighting - one of the world’s most barbaric forms of animal abuse - may be allowed to take place at this venue on September 4th.
Expo 98 was regarded as a monument to art, culture, science and education. Allowing the torture and killing of animals to take place at this venue would therefore be highly inappropriate.
I hope that you will act to ensure that bullfighting is kept out of the Expo complex.
Thank you. I look forward to your positive response.
Yours faithfully,
CONTACT DETAILS
Parque Expo 98, S.A.
Tel: 00 351 21 891 98 98
Email: info@parquedasnacoes.pt
Please copy your letter to Lisbon City Hall and to the local newspapers:
geral@cm-lisboa.pt; dap@cm-lisboa.pt; 24horas@mail.prodiario.pt; acapital@acapital.pt; leitor@acapital.pt; redaccao@correiomanha.pt; noticias@jnoticias.pt; jornal@ocomerciodoporto.pt; webmaster@lusa.pt; publico@publico.pt; diario.digital@mail.telepac.pt; leitoropiniao@mail.expresso.pt
ICABS screensavers and calendars
Visit the “Extras” section of the ICABS website to download one of our exclusive screensavers. Choose from Foxes, Nature, Swans and Sunsets. Also available to download are a selection of calendars. For this and all the updates on the campaign against blood sports, please visit www.banbloodsports.com
Make a donation
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Anti-blood sport petitions (in both html and pdf versions) are now available to download from the “Petitions” section of the ICABS website at www.banbloodsports.com
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