Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests! 4 January 2008 The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has renewed its appeal to Coillte to stop allowing hunters to chase and kill foxes on its property. The state-owned forestry company currently permits hunts to carry out their blood sport in a number of forests around the country. ICABS has this month launched a campaign video exposing the disturbance caused by packs of hounds in Coillte woodland. In a letter to Coillte CEO, David Gunning, we stressed that facilitating hunting is totally unacceptable on land owned by the people of Ireland, most of whom want foxhunting banned (as confirmed by a 2007 Millward Brown opinion poll). We pointed out that hunters and packs of hounds running amok ruin the forest experience for everyone else - the tranquility of the forest is shattered for miles around and the hounds pose a danger to adults and children in the forest. Also highlighted was the disturbance caused to the wildlife (including protected species such as badgers and squirrels) and the sickening fate of forest foxes chased and torn apart by the hounds. This animal cruelty which Coillte allows to take place must end. Please join us now in urging Coillte to ban hunting from its property and to reject all future permit applications from hunts. Campaign Video: Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests! Duration: 53 seconds Display this video on your webpage: Help spread the word about the campaign to keep hunts out of Coillte forests. Please display our video on your website or profile page. Simply copy and paste the following code into your page. Thank you. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NFkgDFdcEQo&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NFkgDFdcEQo&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> About Coillte: Coillte is a private limited company. All of the shares in the company are held by the Minister for Agriculture and Food on behalf of the Irish State. The Board of Directors is appointed by the Minister for Agriculture and Food. URGENT ACTION ALERT Contact Coillte and demand an end to foxhunting on its property. Sample Letter (If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.) Mr. David Gunning Chief Executive Officer Coillte The Irish Forestry Board Newtownmountkennedy Co. Wicklow Email: pr@coillte.ie Tel: 01-201 1111 Fax: 01-201 1199 Dear Mr Gunning, As an Irish citizen, and thereby a shareholder in Coillte, I am writing to demand an end to foxhunting on Coillte property. I understand that Coillte currently issues permits to a number of hunts to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the appalling cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish people want foxhunting outlawed, the time has come for Coillte to do the decent thing and make all of its property off limits to foxhunting groups. Thank you. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] A fox desperately running for its life as a pack of foxhounds close in for the kill. This image was captured in a Coillte forest. Frightening: A pack of howling foxhounds running amok in a Coillte forest. ICABS has told the company that this appalling situation represents not only a threat to wildlife (including protected species) but also to members of the public. "Forests are a great place to walk your dog. However remember that other visitors use the forest and they may not be as fond of your dog as you are and dogs can also cause disturbance to wildlife and live stock on adjoining farmland. Therefore you must be aware of what your dog is doing in the forest and be sure that they are under effective control. Effective control means that your dog will come at your command, if not your dog must to be kept on a lead." (The Coillte Outdoors website acknowledges that other forest users may not appreciate dogs running loose in the forest) Video: Foxhunting cruelty Foxhunting Foxhunting: More information Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition Make a donation to ICABS Please consider making a small donation to ICABS. For more details, please click on the button below or follow this link to find out how to become a campaign supporter. Thank you. News Menu | Join | Top | Home