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Animal Voice - October 2008
Campaign newsletter of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports
Also Available: Animal Voice - The 2008 Annual
In This Issue:
01. Happy World Animal Week
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports wishes all its friends and supporters a happy World Animal Week 2008. We ask you to please contact your local TDs and Senators over the coming days to urge them to support a ban on foxhunting, coursing, deerhunting and all blood sports in Ireland. Thank you. Write to your TD at: Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337 889. Write to your Senator at: Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623. For the names and contact details of politicians, please visit www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/. 02. Please become a supporter of ICABS The Irish Council Against Blood Sports relies entirely on your generosity to continue our campaigning for an end to blood sport cruelty. Please become a supporter of ICABS today. Annual rates are just 15 Euro (Individual), 20 Euro (Family) and 8 Euro (Unwaged). Download a subscription form at www.banbloodsports.com/subsform.htm and send a cheque (made payable to the Irish Council Against Blood Sports) to ICABS, PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. You can also become a supporter or make a donation by using your paypal account or credit card. Please visit www.banbloodsports.com and click on the "Shop" button. Thank you. 03. Rally for animals this Sunday in Dublin To co-incide with World Animal Week, Animal Rights Action Network is organising a peaceful rally for Dublin on October 5th, 2008 (1.30 pm). Many of Ireland's animal welfare groups will be represented at the event, including ICABS. Please make a special effort to attend the rally and voice your opposition to animal cruelty. The rally begins at 1.30pm sharp at the Garden of Remembrance (top of O'Connell Street), Dublin. More info at www.aran.ie Watch the promotional video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr6hGzHzFjo 04. Gormley's coursing extension criticised in Independent In a letter to the editor published in the Irish Independent this week, ICABS Campaign Director Aideen Yourell has criticised Minister John Gormley, not only for granting a licence for another season of hare coursing but also for allowing the coursers to extend their blood sport activities into the month of March. A copy of the letter follows...
Keep the hare coursers out
Despite the fact that Environment Minister John Gormley issued a stark warning last May that the conservation status of the Irish hare is "poor", he went ahead and issued a licence for the netting of up to 7,500 hares from the wild for use as live lures before greyhounds at coursing meetings up and down the country, from October to mid-February. And, as an added bonus, he granted an extension of their cruelty season into March. Meanwhile up North, recognising that the hare population is under threat, Sammy Wilson, Minister for the Environment, renewed the hare hunting suspension in place since 2003. So across the border, our hares get the protection they desperately need, while down south it's a free-for-all for coursers, beaglers and other assorted hare hunters, plus the disaffected Northern hare hunters and coursers who travel south. Mr Gormley recently stated that his role in hare coursing is conservation and that he has no responsibility for what happens at coursing meetings. So it would seem that he doesn't have to concern himself about hares that are struck, mauled, injured and killed by greyhounds, or die of stress-related diseases, as revealed by National Parks Rangers' monitoring reports. Last season, for example, 26 hares were hit and 14 mauled at Tubbercury, while at Wexford & District 16 were hit and eight injured. At Dundalk seven hares were killed, while five died at Gorey, and that's just a small sample of the cruelty catalogue of 34 coursing meetings. The coursing gangs will be out with their nets up and down the country for the next six months. The fact that they have a licence from the Environment Minister doesn't give them the right to enter privately owned lands. So we appeal to farmers and landowners, who are the real custodians of Ireland's wildlife and who, in the main, value the presence of wildlife on their lands, to keep the hare snatchers out. URGENT ACTION ALERTS Appeal to the Environment Minister Please write to Minister John Gormley and demand that he stop licensing hare coursing.
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture Please appeal to Minister Brendan Smith (he is responsible for animal welfare and the Protection of Animals Act) to intervene to end hare coursing.
Minister Brendan Smith
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie
Please also contact your local TDs/Senators and urge them to put pressure on the Environment Minister to ban hare coursing and to protect the precious hare species from all forms of persecution. Write to your TD at: Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337 889. Write to your Senator at: Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623. For the names and contact details of politicians, please visit www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/. 05. Disappointment as Gormley green lights Ward Union hunt ICABS has expressed its disappointment to Minister John Gormley after learning that he has issued another licence to the Ward Union hunt. The licence came despite strong appeals for the hunt to be stopped from practising what is believed to be an unlawful activity under existing animal protection legislation. We are currently awaiting details of the 34 conditions attached to the licence but it has to be acknowledged that no amount of conditions can alleviate the terror and stress of the animals. We are aware of two licence conditions - the deer are to be given a 2km start before hounds are released, and the "hounds must not encounter the deer at close quarters and will be required to withdraw to a distance of 150 metres." How this will be enforced is, to say the least, mind-boggling! As far as we are concerned, these conditions are merely window dressing and the Minister should have refused this licence outright. Our campaign against this cruel and illegal hunt continues. ACTION ALERT Express your disappointment to Minister Gormley at his decision to issue yet another licence to the Ward Union. Restate your opposition to cruel carted deer hunting and urge him to stop licensing this, and other, blood sports.
SAMPLE LETTER
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
Minister Gormley's statement on latest hunt licence Mr John Gormley T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government stated today (12 September 2008) that he had notified the Ward Union Hunt of his decision to grant the Hunt a licence under the Wildlife Act, 1976 with a number of new conditions. Section 26 of the Wildlife Act, 1976, provides that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government may issue a licence for the hunting of stags with a pack of stag hounds. The Minister has examined the Ward Union Hunt's licence application for the 2008/2009 season and he has decided to issue a licence to the Hunt subject to thirty four conditions. In granting the licence for the forthcoming season, the Minister took account of the High Court settlement reached with the Ward Union Hunt earlier in the year relating to the conditions attached to the previous licence. The Minister also took into account the reports by officials of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of his Department who monitored last season's hunt meetings. The Minister was particularly concerned with the protection of the deer from undue stress and two new conditions have been included on the new licence to reflect his concerns in this regard. The new conditions allow the deer to travel at least 2 kilometres before the hounds are released or if this cannot be confirmed the hounds may not be released until 30 minutes after the release of the deer. In addition, the hounds must not encounter the deer at close quarters and will be required to withdraw to a distance of 150 metres. These new conditions will still allow the hounds to pick up the scent of the deer but address concerns that the hounds should be kept well away from the deer. The other new conditions on the licence relate to limiting the size of the hunt and public safety issues. The Minister also said that officials of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of his Department will continue to monitor hunt meetings to ensure compliance with the conditions of the licence. 06. Success: Coca Cola to remove banner from Barcelona bullring Coca Cola has been thanked for promising to permanently remove an advertisment banner from Barcelona's Monumental bullring. Responding to an appeal from ICABS, the company emphasised that "Coca Cola does not sponsor bullfighting events and maintains a long-standing policy regarding the ethical and humane treatment of animals." She also stated that "the Coca Cola Company in Spain was not a sponsor of the bullfighting event that took place on August 3rd [the event at which the banner was photographed] and that they do not sponsor any activity related to bullfighting." She explained that the banner had been displayed at the Monumental venue during exhibitions, motorbike races, concerts, etc and unintentionally remained in place during a bullfight on August 3rd. "Going forward in order to prevent any misunderstanding and to make sure this does not happen again our local bottling partner has agreed to taking away these banners on a permanent basis," she added. ICABS has thanked Coca Cola for this very positive response. 07. Animal Voice - The 2008 Annual Edition The 2008 Annual Edition of Animal Voice is here! 44 pages packed with campaign news, successes and action alerts. Download your copy now and email to all your friends.
Download Now from:
http://banbloodsports.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/av08-2008.pdf
If you enjoy reading Animal Voice, please consider becoming a supporter of ICABS. Your support will help fund future editions of the newsletter and ensure that our campaign against blood sports continues. To become a supporter, please click on "Shop" at www.banbloodsports.com Thank you. 08. Professor outlines animal emotions on Pat Kenny show Listen to a very interesting interview with Professor Marc Bekoff on RTE Radio 1's Pat Kenny Show (September 3rd, 2008) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0tpOhWNpXs Professor Bekoff is Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society and a former Guggenheim Fellow. In 2000 he was awarded the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society for major long-term contributions to the field of animal behavior. He has published more than 18 books including The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy and Why They Matter (New World Library, 2007); Species of mind: The philosophy and biology of cognitive ethology (with Colin Allen, MIT Press, 1997); Nature's purposes: Analyses of function and design in biology (edited with Colin Allen and George Lauder, MIT Press, 1998), Animal play: Evolutionary, comparative, and ecological perspectives (edited with John Byers, Cambridge University Press, 1998), Encyclopedia of animal rights and animal welfare (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998), and a book on the lighter side, Nature's life lessons: Everyday truths from nature (with Jim Carrier, Fulcrum, 1996). Find out more about Prof Bekoff at http://literati.net/Bekoff/index.htm 09. Hasbro asked to scrap Monopoly matador Toy makers, Hasbro, have been asked to scrap a matador piece from a new edition of their Monopoly game. In a letter to the company's president, ICABS appealed for this symbol of cruelty to replaced with a flamenco dancer. The character appears in the new "Here and Now: The World Edition" Monopoly game as a representation of Spain. In our correspondence to Mr Brian Golder, ICABS expressed our disbelief that "Hasbro has deemed it appropriate to include a symbol of one of the world's worst examples of violence against animals in a family game". "Considering the appalling cruelty that is carried out at bullrings and the fact that few of your customers are likely to look favourably upon bullfighting, we ask Hasbro to please withdraw the matador piece and replace it with a flamenco dancer," we added. Responding, a company representative stated: "Our intent in selecting icons [for the game pieces] was that they represented historical fact. They were not meant to be an endorsement or criticism of any activity, in any way. We respect your opinion very much and want to assure you that your comments will be thoroughly reviewed by our staff and considered for future editions of the game." ACTION ALERT Please send an email to Hasbro with "Please replace the Monopoly matador" in the subject line.
Patricia J. Riso
10. Gormley declares open season on tiny deer The following article was published in the Evening Herald of September 29th 2008
'Hunt and kill illegal Chinese deer', says Gormley
Tiny, four-footed Chinese "invaders" are to be shot on sight in Irish forests. The 19-inch-high Muntjac deer have been brought into the country and released illegally into the wild, Department of the Environment officials believe. The non-native species, also known as "barking" deer, pose a threat to the Irish deer populations of Sika, Red and Fallow. The Department's experts say the non-native populations are susceptible to, or may act as a reservoir for, bovine TB, foot and mouth disease, Lyme's disease and bluetongue virus. They also have a reputation for damaging crops. The Muntjac have been spotted in Co Wicklow in three separate areas 15km apart and some have already been shot by licenced hunters. Now Environment Minister John Gormley has declared "open season" on the Muntjac for the next 12 months under the Wildlife Act. Native deer species are protected and can only be hunted during very specific parts of the year. But licenced deer hunters will be able to hunt Muntjac throughout the State subject to the permission of the landowner. "The introduction of the Muntjac deer in Britain has resulted in significant damage to commercial woodland, farm crops and gardens over the years," Mr Gormley said. "I am of the view that this authorisation ensure that the species does not gain a foothold in the country. "My Department are examining further measures with a view to eradicating this alien species before it becomes established." The Muntjac's small size and its liking for woodland habitats together with its extended breeding season, allows it to build up numbers and reach high densities quickly. The Department warned it is a criminal offence to introduce and release Muntjac deer and Mr Gormley said they would vigorously pursue "any individual introducing invasive species into the State." Educate others about the cruelty of blood sports! Please download ICABS videos, copy them to your portable media player and show them to as many people as possible. Encourage your friends to become active in the campaign against blood sport cruelty and subscribe to Animal Voice by emailing "Subscribe" to info@banbloodsports.com. Why not arrange a meeting with your local TDs and show them the terrible reality of blood sports. Ask them to support legislation outlawing foxhunting, carted deer hunting, hare coursing, mink hunting and other blood sports. To download the videos, please click on "Videos" at www.banbloodsports.com, choose the video you wish to download and click on the Download link. Thank you. 12. Preservation Notice - Sample Make it known publicly that your land is off-limits to hunters. Place a preservation notice in your local newspaper now. Below is a sample preservation notice which you may wish to use. "Take notice that all my lands at [Insert address(es) of land] are private and preserved day and night. All forms of hunting and shooting are strictly prohibited. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Signed [Insert name(s) of landowner]" Note: Regardless of whether or not you publish a preservation notice, hunters have no right to enter privately-owned lands without permission. It is unacceptable for them to claim that they didn't know that your lands are private and preserved. However, many landowners choose to publish a preservation notice to make it abundantly clear to hunters that they are not allowed to enter the land. For more information about how you can keep hunters out, please click on"Farmers" at www.banbloodsports.com Farmers affected by hunt trespass may also wish to contact the Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass organisation which offers advice to landowners. Chairman, Philip Lynch, can be reached at 056-7725309. 13. Help the hare: appeal to farmers Attention all farmers and landowners: Please help the Irish Hare by downloading, laminating and displaying copies of our new poster - "Hare Sanctuary - No Coursing, No Netting, No Hunting" - and keeping hare coursers, netters and hunters off your land. Use your power as a custodian of Ireland's wildlife heritage to protect this vulnerable species from persecution. Thank you very much.
Download the poster now from
For more information about how you can help protect Irish animals from blood sports cruelty, please click on "Farmers" at www.banbloodsports.com 14. Gardai called after hunt invades fox sanctuary A Galway landowner has called on the Gardai to consider prosecuting a local hunt after they came in to her wildlife sanctuary and damaged a wall. A report in the Irish Independent quoted Sheelagh Conway as saying that she told the Galway Blazers' hunt master to "get off my land and take his bloodthirsty hunstmen with him". The report outlined that Ms Conway was left feeling intimidated and terrorised after the incident in Limehill, a remote area in East Galway. She complained that when she approached the hunt master, he gave her " a very curt apology and blew his bugle into my face." (Hunt 'sorry' after riding over writer's land - Irish Independent, 16 September 2008) She commented: "My land is something of an animal sanctuary, particularly for foxes because they have fled from adjoining fields. The Galway Blazers knocked an old limestone wall and then rode on to my field without permission. I live on my own and it was not a very nice experience at all." ICABS reminds landowners that hunters and hounds are not permitted to come on to land without permission and that the landowner has the right, under law, to refuse them permission. For more information about how you can help keep hunts out, please click on "Farmers" at www.banbloodsports.com 15. Estrella Damm asked to remove bullring banner ICABS has asked beer company, Estrella Damm, to remove an advertisement banner from Barcelona's bloody bullring. The banner was photographed overlooking scenes of appalling cruelty to animals in the Monumental venue. Please join our urgent action alert now. The photo of Estrella Damm's banner was supplied to ICABS by journalist/author/film-maker Don Mullan who witnessed bullfighting at the "Monumental" venue last month and subsequently outlined the horror of the activity. Writing in the Irish Times, Mr Mullan condemned bullfighters as "cowardly butchers" and graphically described an injured bull convulsing, a bull bleeding from its mouth and nose with "its tormented cries clearly audible" and a bull with its front covered in "liquid crimson". ACTION ALERT Please contact Estrella Damm now with the message "Estrella Damm - Please remove your banner from Barcelona's bloody bullring and fully disassociate from bullfighting". You can send your message from the company's website at: http://www.estrelladamm.es/contacto/contacto.asp or write to:
Enrique Crous Milllet
Tel: +34-93-2909200. Fax: +34-93-2909348
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
Stop Terrierwork and digging out (French petition)
Stop the killing of all living creatures for pleasure (UK)
17. Add us as a friend on Bebo, MySpace, Youtube Help highlight our campaign against blood sports. Please add us as a top friend on your MySpace, Bebo or Youtube page and repost our regular bulletins. The addresses are www.myspace.com/banbloodsports and www.bebo.com/banbloodsports and www.youtube.com/icabs You can also catch up with all the latest campaign news at www.banbloodsports.com. Thank you.
Don't Allow Hare Netting: ICABS Appeal To Farmers
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports today makes an urgent appeal to farmers and other landowners to refuse permission to coursing clubs to net hares from their lands for use as live lures before greyhounds at enclosed coursing meetings. We make this plea to the farmers, who are the real custodians of Ireland's wildlife heritage, to over-ride the licence granted this week to the Irish Coursing Club by Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, to take thousands of hares from the wild. The power now rests with the farmers and landowners to refuse permission to coursers with nets entering their lands, and we urge them to use this power in the interests of the conservation of the Irish hare, and its protection from cruelty and abuse. Farmers are being asked to download and display copies of our new "Hare Sanctuary" poster which uses the slogan "No Coursing, No Netting, No Hunting". The poster can be downloaded from the Farmers section of our website at www.banbloodsports.com The fact that coursers have a licence from the Minister for the Environment doesn't give them the right to enter privately owned lands, and we call on farmers to exercise their absolute rights and keep these people out. Just last May, Minister Gormley himself issued a major report on the status of Ireland's wildlife and habitats, which warned that the conservation status of Irish hares was 'POOR'. It was also highlighted in a report obtained by ICABS under FOI that coursers complained of a lack of hares in the countryside. Despite this compelling evidence of the threat to the Irish hare, Minister Gormley went ahead and issued a licence for the netting and disturbance of up to 7,500 hares from the wild. The coursers will be out with their nets up and down the country during the coursing season (September 1st to February) and we ask farmers and landowners to be vigilant. We have no doubt that Irish farmers in the main value the presence of hares on their lands, and we earnestly appeal to them to use their rights and powers to protect the hare from the abuse that is live hare coursing.
Barbarism of Bullring
Madam, - Sean Alexander Smith's arguments in favour of bullfighting (August 26th) fail to pass scrutiny. He says the sport is morally acceptable because it "belongs to a long, noble tradition". This commits the logical fallacy of argumentum ad antiquitatem, inferring "ought" from "is". One can think of many cultural traditions, accepted for centuries, which can no longer be justified; the systematic exclusion of women from political life is one example. Mr Smith's claim that bullfighting warrants EU funding because it "attracts huge crowds" and receives extensive media coverage is an even weaker appeal to popular opinion as a basis for moral acceptability. The most gruesome spectator sports in ancient Rome elicited similar attention, just as public executions do today in parts of Africa and Asia. He concludes by likening Irish drunken raucousness to bullfights, and asks smugly if animal rights activists would therefore support banning the sale of alcohol. Such behaviour is generally engaged in by people who are capable of making choices, unlike tormented animals goaded into a lurching frenzy for our primitive entertainment. - Yours, etc,
Barbarism Of The Bullring
Madam, - Don Mullan's recent harrowing account of bullfighting barbarity in Barcelona (The Irish Times, August 16th), referred to a Coca-Cola banner on display at the city's bullring. The Irish Council Against Blood Sports contacted Coca-Cola about this and we are delighted to report that the company has promised to have the banner removed. A spokesperson emphasised that "Coca-Cola does not sponsor bullfighting events and maintains a long-standing policy regarding the ethical and humane treatment of animals". She went on to explain that the banner had been displayed at the venue during exhibitions, motorbike races and concerts and unintentionally remained in place during the bullfight on August 3rd. "To make sure this does not happen again, our local bottling partner has agreed to take away these banners on a permanent basis," she added. We thank Don Mullan and The Irish Times for highlighting this matter and also Coca-Cola for its swift and decisive response. Our attention now turns to beer company Estrella Damm, which continues to have a banner emblazoned across the side of the bullring. 19. Ongoing action alert - Demand ban on foxhunting Foxhunting is one of Ireland's most cruel and inhumane activities. Foxes are chased to exhaustion and ripped apart by packs of hounds. If they manage to find refuge underground during a hunt, terriers are sent after them to viciously drag them back out into the open. If a domestic animal was abused the same way that foxes are abused by foxhunts, it would be a criminal offence. Opinion polls have shown that a majority of Irish people want foxhunting made illegal. Please make your voice heard. Call on Agriculture Minister, Brendan Smith, to ensure that foxhunting is banned under the new Animal Health and Welfare Bill.
SAMPLE LETTER 1
Minister Brendan Smith
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie
Dear Minister Smith, I am one of the majority of Irish people who want foxhunting banned. Please ensure that the Animal Health and Welfare Bill prohibits the chasing of foxes with packs of hounds and the associated foxhunting cruelty of terrierwork, digging out and earthstopping. Foxhunting is an abhorrent assault on our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Thank you. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location]
SAMPLE LETTER 2
Minister John Gormley
Dear Minister Gormley, I am writing to appeal to you to amend the Wildlife Act so that foxes are protected from the terrible cruelty of foxhunting. Foxhunting is one of Ireland's worst blood sports; it is totally unacceptable that our wildlife legislation is failing to save foxes from the horrific injuries and deaths they suffer during hunts. Thank you. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Appeal to all Irish politicians Please join us in telling the Irish Government that it is now time to replace foxhunting with the humane alternative - drag hunting. Drag hunting sees the hounds chasing a scent which is artificially laid across the countryside. This form of "hunting" is already practised successfully by a few groups in Ireland. In a modern and civilised country like Ireland, there should be no place for foxhunting, particularly when a transition to drag hunting would be simple. Write to your TD at: Dáil Éireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337 889. Write to your Senator at: Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623. For the names and contact details of politicians, please visit www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/. 20. Ongoing action alert - Ask Minister Gormley to ban mink hunting
The status of the otter species is "poor" according to the "Status of EU Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland" report published by the Department of the Environment in May 2008. According to a National Parks and Wildlife Service survey in 2006, otters have declined by 18 per cent in the past 25 years and numbers are continuing to fall. It is clear that urgent action must be taken to help halt the decline in the otter population. It is imperative that this includes a ban on mink hunting, a blood sport which is not only cruel to mink but also results in huge disturbances to the otters which inhabit the same stretches of rivers. Thanks to years of lobbying by ICABS and an EU Directive, otter hunting is now illegal in Ireland. However, to circumvent the ban, otter hunters simply started hunting mink instead. We have always maintained that since mink and otters inhabit the same stretches of river, any form of hunting will significantly disturb the now protected otter. Please contact Minister John Gormley and ask him to urgently bring mink hunting to an end as a way to help halt the decline in otter numbers.
SAMPLE LETTER
Minister John Gormley
Dear Minister Gormley, I was dismayed to learn from the recently published "Status of EU Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland" report that the conservation status of the otter is "poor". A survey carried out by the NPWS division of your department has previously found that otters have declined by 18 per cent and are continuing to decline. I urge you to ensure that this precious species is given every possible protection. This protection must include a ban on mink hunting. With otters and mink inhabiting the same stretches of river, mink hunting is a significant threat to the otter species and its habitat. The disturbance caused by hunters on riverbanks and in the water can be clearly seen in an Irish Council Against Blood Sports presentation at www.youtube.com/icabs As someone who opposes the cruelty of mink hunting and wants the otter's future safeguarded, I urge you, Minister, to bring mink hunting to an end in Ireland. Thank you. I look forward to your positive response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] 21. Ongoing action alert - Demand end to cruel badger snaring Tens of thousands of badgers (a "protected" species in Ireland) have been cruelly snared and killed by the Department of Agriculture to-date. The assault on the badger species is part of their so-called TB Eradication Scheme, a failed and discredited operation that has been described as "slaughter masquerading as science".
Please appeal to Agriculture Minister, Brendan Smith, to show compassion and suspend the cruel badger snaring operation. Remind the Minister that the badger is a protected species in Ireland and that the Protection of Animals Act, for which he is responsible, makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal. Tell him that a recent report stated that "badger culling apparently has the capacity to increase badger-to-badger transmission of infection, potentially undermining anticipated reductions in badger-to-cattle transmission."
SAMPLE LETTER
Minister Brendan Smith
Please write to the Minister for the Environment and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Remind them that the Wildlife Act, for which they are responsible, lists the badger as a protected species. Demand that they stop licensing the snaring and killing of thousands of badgers as part of a cruel and discredited TB eradication scheme.
Minister John Gormley
* Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe
Dear Sirs, I wish to register my outrage that tens of thousands of badgers have been cruelly snared and killed by the Department of Agriculture in recent years. There is absolutely no justification for using these cruel snares which cause terrible stress and suffering to badgers. When caught, the badgers struggle frantically throughout the night to escape before being shot to death by a Department of Agriculture employee. This failed approach to eradicating bovine TB has been described as "slaughter masquerading as science" and it's not difficult to understand why. Tackling the disease should focus fully on developing a bovine TB vaccine (as is being done in the UK) and not using defenceless badgers as scapegoats. The badger is a protected species under the Wildlife Act and should be given the protection it is entitled to. Thank you. I look forward to your positive response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] 22. Ongoing action alert - Urge Minister Gormley to stop licensing deerhunt Please join our appeal to Minister John Gormley (Green Party) to stop licensing the Ward Union carted deer hunt - a cruel "sport" which causes horrific suffering to defenceless red deer. According to official monitoring reports obtained by ICABS under the Freedom of Information Act, the victims include deer dying of aneurisms, a deer drowned in a quarry, a deer that died after sustaining fractured ribs, a deer hanging by its front leg on barbed wire and a deer that dropped dead after trying to escape over an 8ft wall.
SAMPLE LETTER
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
Dear Minister Gormley, I am writing to urge you to stop licensing the Ward Union hunt for carted deer hunting activities. The captive bred, domesticated deer used by the hunt are protected animals under the Protection of Animals Act and may not be legally hounded by hunters. It is contrary to existing legislation to licence the activities of this hunt. I implore you, as a Green Party Minister, to stop licensing this hunt. Thank you. I look forward to your response. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] Sign up for the Irish Council Against Blood Sports' Campaign Text Alerts service and receive occasional campaign updates to your mobile phone. To subscribe to this free service, simply text the word GO to our textline on 086-0386617. If, after subscribing, you wish to unsubscribe at any stage, simply text the word STOP to the same number. Your number will not be passed on to anyone else. Please become a supporter of ICABS The Irish Council Against Blood Sports relies entirely on your generosity to continue our campaigning for an end to blood sport cruelty. Please become a supporter of ICABS today. Annual rates are just 15 Euro (Individual), 20 Euro (Family) and 8 Euro (Unwaged). Download a subscription form at www.banbloodsports.com/subsform.htm and send a cheque (made payable to the Irish Council Against Blood Sports) to ICABS, PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. You can also become a supporter or make a donation by using your paypal account or credit card. Please visit www.banbloodsports.com and click on the "Shop" button. Thank you. Fund an ICABS campaign postcard Campaign postcards are an important part of our campaign to highlight cruelty and call for change. Please consider funding an ICABS postcard. The printing costs for a postcard are approximately 150 Euro. ICABS postcards are made available on demand to individuals and animal welfare groups. If you are interested in funding a postcard, please contact us for further details. Thank you. Tune in to the ICABS Channel Footage of blood sport cruelty and the humane alternatives can be viewed on the ICABS Channel on Youtube - www.youtube.com/icabs or by clicking on "Videos" at www.banbloodsports.com Please ask your local TD/Senator to view our videos and back a blood sports ban. Animal Voice - subscribe Help us to highlight our campaigns to even more people. If you have friends who would like to receive "Animal Voice", please ask them to send an email to info [AT] banbloodsports.com with "Animal Voice - Subscribe" in the subject line.
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