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Animal Voice - October 2004
The campaign newsletter of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports In This Issue:
01 Hunting should not be banned in Ireland: Micheal Martin
01. Hunting should not be banned in Ireland: Micheal Martin Former Health Minister, Micheal Martin, has stated that he does not think foxhunting should be banned in Ireland. The Fianna Fail TD (Cork South Central) and current Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment made the statement on RTE's Questions and Answers on 20th September. (The programme segment can be viewed online via www.rte.ie/news/2004/0920/qanda.html) Responding to a question from presenter, John Bowman, Mr Martin said: "Foxhunting has been a part of Irish rural life for quite a long time, since well before the foundation of the state. I'm not sure banning a sport like that is the way to deal with issues like this." His comments came just five days after members of Parliament in the UK voted overwhelmingly to make foxhunting illegal there from 2006. Olwyn Enright (Fianna Gael spokesperson on Education and Science) also said she would not want to see foxhunting banned. "I haven't considered it in any great detail but I wouldn't be in support of a ban of it at this point," she said. "I do think that eventually people will have to look at other ways - drag hunting and things like that - but I think that would be a very, very slow process. But it is something I would ask the hunt organisation to look into." Thankfully, two other panellists on the programme had the courage and conviction to unequivocally condemn the cruelty of foxhunting. Michael O'Regan, Irish Times Parliamentary Correspondent commented: "I think hunting should be banned. I think it's an appalling and degrading practice. To raise this ill-treatment of animals to the level of a social pastime or sport is appalling. I really think all kinds of blood sports of that nature should be banned. I cannot believe how anyone can justify it." Dr Hugh Brady, President of University College Dublin, also supported a ban. After making reference to the foxes residing on the university campus, he said that "killing a defenceless animal for sport does nothing for me - it should be banned." Speaking from the audience, Philip Lynch of Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass highlighted how landowners continue to suffer the consequences of trespassing hunters. "These people have no place to run only on our land," he stated. "They come in over a fence, tear it down, cut barbed wire, go through winter corn and early grass that we're waiting for a crop off (that has been fertilised expensively), they race our livestock - our sheep - and the sheep afterwards [have miscarriages]." He added: "When we went to a hunt after they went in to someone's land that they weren't allowed on to, they said as an excuse that the fox went that way. Beautiful! The fox owns the whole countryside! The farmers in this country are the sufferers." Action Item Please write to Micheal Martin and Olwyn Enright and express your desire to see foxhunting and all blood sports immediately banned in Ireland. Tell them that you do not accept that making this barbarity illegal needs to be part of a "very, very slow process". When hunting with hounds is banned in the UK, Ireland will become one of the last places in the world to allow these cruel activities.
Minister Micheal Martin
Tel: 01-6312121
Olwyn Enright, TD
Tel:01 618 4217
02. Please contact new Ministers Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's long awaited cabinet re-shuffle has taken place, and we have new Environment and Agriculture Ministers. Dick Roche has taken over the Environment portfolio and now has responsibility for wildlife. Mary Coughlan, meanwhile, is responsible for animal welfare which is part of the Agriculture portfolio. The 2004-05 hare coursing season is now underway, thanks to licences, granted by Minister Dick Roche, for the netting of approximately 10,000 hares from the wild. Please direct your views about coursing and the netting of hares to Minister Dick Roche, together with your objections to carted deer hunting. If you have not already done so, please send in your hare coursing and carted deer hunting campaign postcards to the Minister for the Environment. If you have friends or family who would like to lend their support, contact us and we can let you have extra postcards to distribute to them. Please write also to Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, outlining your objections to fox hunting, hare coursing and carted deer hunting. Contact details for both Ministers are as follows:
Minister Dick Roche
Tel: 01-8882403
Minister Mary Coughlan
Tel: 01-6072000
03. "Man About Dog" film has got it wrong ICABS Campaign Director, Aideen Yourell, reviews a new Irish film which presents animal cruelty as comedy. The biggest laugh to be had in this disappointing film, however, is when it claims coursing is a majority activity with minority opposition... Actor Sean McGinley, who plays the part of a crooked bookie in the newly released "Man About Dog", has called on people to go and see the film to see what coursing is "REALLY" like. So, I duly headed off to the film during the week to see if it would portray coursing as I know it. The film is supposed to be a comedy, but it didn't amuse me in the slightest. As a person concerned with animal welfare, I didn't get any laughs from the cruelty depicted - a guy heading into the bushes with a shovel to kill a lurcher, a dog being shot on a farmer's request, a bird of prey shot at a game fair, a crow shot on the coursing field, a terrified cat used to lure greyhounds off the track to fix a race, a dog killed by a car and various greyhounds being administered drugs to make them run faster. There was nothing remotely funny or entertaining in this film for me. In my view, it portrayed the greyhound industry as a low-life world of callous cruelty and corruption - many who know the inside track on certain aspects of greyhound racing might well agree with that portrayal! I found the scenes of coursing at Clonmel very interesting, especially when the narrator launched into a familiar explanation of how coursing works, i.e. it's not about killing hares, but turning the hare, and the hare gets into the escape "safe and sound". Well, I have news for Sean McGinley and the producers of "Man About Dog" - that's not what it's "REALLY" like all the time, because hares don't always get into the escape area unscathed, and we have video footage to prove it - hares being hit by muzzled greyhounds, tossed into the air, pinned down, mauled and battered, resulting in injuries that lead to death in most cases. And, if Sean won't accept our film evidence, maybe he would accept official Department of Environment reports, obtained by us under the Freedom of Information Act, which clearly show that not a coursing season goes by without hares being injured and killed by greyhounds. And not only that, many hares die of stress-related illnesses. For example, out of a total of 80 hares captured from the wild for a coursing meeting in Wexford last December, 40 died in the compound. The vet, in his report, stated: "Hares being normally solitary animals are significantly stressed when corralled and coursed, and this combination of circumstances has resulted in the deaths in this case." Finally, it was also stated in the film that hare coursing was a major "sport" in Ireland with a minority opposed to it. Wrong way around - coursing is a minority activity, with the vast majority opposed, according to independent surveys carried out since the late seventies. The most recent poll, taken in 1998, showed a whopping 80 per cent, across town and country, opposed to coursing. 04. No funds to coursers in "last ten years" The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, has confirmed to Green Party TD, Dan Boyle, that no Exchequer funding has been allocated to the Irish Coursing Club in the last decade. ICABS is now calling on the Minister to clarify if "the last ten years" includes 2004-05. Readers will recall how earlier this year Bord na gCon approved "in principle" a quarter of a million Euro for hare coursing from their annual 12 million Euro grant of taxpayers' money from the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism. We are also calling for an Amendment to the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 which states that Bord na gCon may make "payments, grants or loans for all or any one or more of the following purposes...the increase of stake money and prizes at greyhound race meetings at greyhound race tracks and authorised coursing meetings...the improvement of greyhound race tracks, authorised coursing grounds and the amenities thereof, the preservation of hares, and the care and management of hares in connection with authorised coursing meetings, assisting the Club in the performance of its functions or contributing to the cost of schemes operated by the Club for the improvement and development of greyhound breeding and coursing..." (If you would like to read the full text of the Greyhound Industry Act, please visit the Links section of the ICABS website and scroll down to "Irish Legislation Links"). Action Item Please contact Minister John O'Donoghue and re-state your opposition to any funding of coursing. Tell the Minister to ensure that not a single cent of taxpayers' money is given or loaned to the Irish Coursing Club. Remind him that the eight in ten Irish citizens who want coursing banned would find this entirely unacceptable. Urge him to follow the good example of the UK and Scottish Parliaments and ban hare coursing in Ireland.
Minister John O'Donoghue
Tel: 01-631 3802
05. More good news from Catalonia (Source of information: ADDA, Spain) On 28th September 2004, another city in Catalonia, Spain declared itself animal friendly and against bullfighting. The City Council of Granollers took this important decision and it brings to 8 the number of anti-bullfighting cities in Catalonia. After Barcelona (which declared itself against bullfighting back in April), Granollers is the next major city in Catalonia with a population of 50,000. ICABS joins ADDA in hoping that more and more cities in Spain will follow this good example, thus increasing the pressure on the Catalan and Spanish Governments to introduce a bullfighting ban. Action Item 1 Please send a letter, fax or email to the mayor of Granollers congratulating him for this decision and asking him to inform the different political groups of the City Council of your congratulations.
Sr. Josep Mayoral i Antiguas
Email: alcaldia@ajuntament.granollers.org
Action Item 2 Please collect signatures for the "Ban Bullfighting in Catalonia" petition which is available to print from the petitions section of the ICABS website. Alternatively, simply click on these links to download a petition directly: 06. Cian O'Connor hunted with Ward Union and Louth hunts A letter to the editor published in the Meath Chronicle has revealed that Olympic Games competitor, Cian O'Connor, has hunted with both the Ward Union Deerhunt and the Louth Foxhunt. The letter from a Dunshaughlin resident stated: "The Ward Union Hunt and Pony Club are all part of [the equestrian] tradition, and it was through such clubs and organisations that Paul Carberry, Barry and Ross Geraghty, Robert Power, and most of the high profile names in Irish racing today, emerged. Cian O'Connor himself has hunted with the Ward Union and actually learned his riding skills hunting with the Louths." 07. Fox hunters are "bloody liars" by ICABS Director, Pat Phelan "Bloody Liars." That was the heading to a report in the Sunday Mirror newspaper of October 3rd last, and it refers to the pro-hunting lobby in England. The report carries details of a letter sent by the Masters of Foxhounds Association to 800 hunt masters. The letter warns of a nationwide shortage of foxes and urges that landowners should be encouraged to breed more foxes to solve the problem. Clearly the purpose is to have more foxes available so hunters can kill them. But the main argument of both England and Ireland's pro-hunting lobby is that hunting controls foxes as pests. This argument is now worthless and is again revealed as a lie. Fox hunting has got nothing whatsoever to do with controlling the species. It is all about killing animals for fun. This utterly cruel and sadistic activity is heading for a ban in England in August 2006 when all hunting with dogs becomes illegal. Hare coursing, meanwhile, is set to be banned there next February. The Irish Government must now be urged to act in like manner and ban those activities here. A heartless minority must not be allowed to shame our country by dragging into the 21st Century, practices befitting the Dark Ages. A population census of Ireland's foxes and hares should now be undertaken by our government and the results made public. Note: The letter emerged when the Sunday Mirror obtained a copy of an email sent in response to it by Simon Hart, chief executive of the pro-hunt group Countryside Alliance. In the email, Mr Hart expressed his concern that if the letter was leaked "we would be ridiculed in Parliament, the Press and in all parts of Britain where hunting is firstly population control and secondly recreational." 08. Campaign success: bullfight promo removed from website We are happy to report that a review which described bullfighting in Madrid as "unmissable" has been removed from the This Is The Life .com website. Responding to an appeal from ICABS in September, a spokesperson for website sponsors, Chivas Regal, stated: "Being the sponsor of the website, it is not entirely up to us to decide what does and does not go on to the site as it is editorially independent. Nevertheless, we do take your point and have communicated with the editorial team and the [bullfighting] experience will be removed." ICABS has thanked Chivas Regal for their positive response to our appeal. 09. Direct appeal to Google founders: please stop bullfight adverts ICABS has appealed directly to the founders of Google to stop advertising bullfighting alongside its search engine results. In our letter to company directors, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, we expressed our disappointment that Google continues to promote bullfighting. "As you may be aware, this internationally condemned blood sport involves horrendous animal cruelty. The bulls are brutally stabbed, speared and killed. We feel that this is not an activity which Google should be helping to promote through its sponsored link service." We made particular reference to a Google advertisement link which directs people to a website where tickets for bullfighting can be ordered. Action Item Please join us in our appeal. Write a letter to Sergey Brin and Larry Page at:
Google HQ,
Tel: +001 650 623 4000
Send a copy of your letter to the Google European Headquarters at:
1st & 2nd Floors,
Fax: +353 (0)1 436 1001
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir, I appeal to Google to stop featuring sponsored links for the blood sport of bullfighting. It is very disappointing that Google is playing a part in the promotion of one of the world's most barbaric blood sports - an activity which the majority of Spanish and European Union citizens abhor and want banned. One of Google's current sponsored links is for a website which sells tickets to bullfights. I find it appalling that Google is content to continue profiting from the organisers of this animal cruelty. I call on your company to immediately scrap all bullfight-related sponsored links and adopt a policy - as other major international companies have already done - of disassociating from any activity which involves physical harm to animals. Thank you for considering my appeal. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, Name/Location 10. Burren feral goat campaign For details on how you can help protect the persecuted Burren feral goat population, please visit Clare Animal Welfare's website at http://www.clareanimalwelfare.net/html/feral_goats.html 11. Latest Dail Q&A from Tony Gregory Note: All questions were answered on 12th October, 2004 Question 366 - Tony Gregory: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of deer which remain in the wild following hunts organised by the Ward Union Hunt; the location of these deer; the reason they are not recaptured; the responsibilities of the Ward Union authorities in relation to uncaptured deer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): My Department is responsible for issuing an annual licence to the Ward Union Hunt Club. One of the conditions attached to the licence in recent years requires that, by a particular date, "the Ward Union Hunt Club shall inform the Minister of the number and sex of all deer released and not recaptured together with an indication of where such deer were last sighted." The Ward Union Hunt Club has informed my Department that some deer prove elusive when attempts are made to recapture them. They assess each case individually and decide whether the animal should be left free or subjected to repeated attempts at recapture. I should add that the Ward Union Hunt Club hunting Code of Practice provides that any deer actively hunted, but not recaptured, will not be hunted again for at least 30 days afterwards. The Ward Union Hunt Club has provided me with the following figures on all deer released but not recaptured up to the end of the 2003/2004 season: 1 deer at each of Maptown (Ballyboughil), Reynoldstown (Cloghertow), Bellewstown, Balrath, Ardmulchan (Navan), Rathfeigh, Meadesbrook and Greenpark (Dunshaughlin); 2 deer at Dunderry and 4 deer at Dunsany Estate. (Total: 14 male deer) Question 365 - Tony Gregory: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the licensing conditions for the capture of hares will be altered to include the prohibition of the removal of the hares from the State. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): For the 2004-2005 season a number of additional conditions have been attached to the annual licence issued by my Department to the Irish Coursing Club and its affiliated clubs to capture live hares, including a prohibition on the removal of captured hares from the State. Question 364 - Tony Gregory: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of prosecutions taken by his Department for the unlawful capture of hares; the locations at which the captures took place; the outcome of the prosecutions; if the purpose of the unlawful captures was established in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): Two relevant prosecutions are currently under way. Pending the outcome, it would not be appropriate to specify further details of these prosecutions at this stage. 12. Call for ministerial inquiry into sport horse cruelty The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has called on the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, who has responsibility for animal welfare legislation, to launch an exhaustive investigation into all aspects of the sport horse industry. We are particularly concerned with alleged cruel methods (as reported on the Pat Kenny Radio Show on 11th October) to make horses' lower leg areas more sensitive so that when jumping, they are forced to lift their legs higher to avoid the bars. Examples given to achieve this included sticking needles in the legs, applying an irritant such as turpentine, putting ball bearings in bandages and wrapping them around the horses' legs plus lifting the bars as the horse is jumping. If these cruel and abusive practices are indeed being carried out by some people in the show jumping community, they would most certainly be in breach of the Protection of Animals Act, and thus liable to prosecution. ICABS finds these revelations very disturbing, and we can only speculate on who in this industry knew of such awful abuse and could have cried stop in the interests of compassion towards the animals. If it is the case that there were professionals, or people in authority, who knew of such abuses and could have blown the whistle before now, we say to such people - Shame On You! 13. Student apologises for abusive email A student at an English boarding school has apologised to ICABS after sending us an abusive email. The apology came following a complaint to the warden of Radley College. The student wrote: "I am very sorry to send you that rude email the other day. It was totally out of proportion and I will never do it again. I clearly understand your views about the issue and I should have kept my out of proportion thoughts to myself." 14. Halloween 2004 - Campaign Poster Highlight the horror of hunting this Halloween. Download and display our new campaign poster today! Available in both colour and black and white versions, the A4 poster is a striking reminder of the barbarity of blood sports. Simply visit the ICABS homepage to download and print your copy. 15. Hunters threaten farm worker The Kilkenny People has highlighted a vicious encounter between trespassing hunters and a farm worker in the county. The farm worker was reportedly threatened and verbally abused when he challenged six men as they entered the land with a pack of ten dogs. The land, in Tullaroan, is preserved against all forms of hunting in a bid by the landowner to protect his sheep from hunt hounds. According to the Kilkenny People report, "the pack of dogs were running amok and locals feared that the men were blooding their dogs on private property. They feared for their livestock in an area where marauding dogs have savaged sheep in recent times." The Tullaroan landowner has repeatedly suffered losses as a result of dogs chasing his animals, the article outlined. In one incident, 11 dead sheep were found piled on top of each other. In another, a calf was found suffering from a spinal injury after, it is believed, being chased by dogs. ICABS has posted the landowner a copy of our Troubled by the Hunt leaflet. 16. Dog fighting court case adjourned "The case against 12 men charged with running an illegal dog fight was adjourned at Naas District Court yesterday. Solicitor Mr Eoin O'Connor, who is representing some of the defendants, said he needed more time to get legal advice considering the number of clients and the amount of evidence involved. Judge Murrough Connellan adjourned the case to November 17th. The alleged offences are said to have occurred on October 31st 2003, at Broclagh, Roberstown, Co Kildare. The men have all been charged under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1911." (from the Irish Times, 8th October 2004). We hope to bring you an update on this in a future Animal Voice. 17. Help save baboons from persecution The Centre for Animal Rehabilitation and Education (CARE) in South Africa is calling on people all over the world to contact the country's Department of Agriculture and demand greater protection for the local baboon population. In 2002, CARE released 35 rehabilitated baboons into a large conservancy area. As the area was in the process of applying for World Heritage Site classification, they were confident that the two troops of animals would be safe and protected. However, this is not how things turned out. Last year one of the troops was poisoned and six animals died. Now, two more baboons have been shot. This has seriously affected the social structure of this troop, and the scientific evaluation of the project. CARE say they are helpless to stop the hunter/landowner from killing the baboons because according to the law, baboons are classified as "vermin" or "problem animals" and hunters may kill them without even needing a permit. CARE has successfully had the law changed in 2 of the 9 provinces in South Africa - but they understandably want all baboons protected from this persecution.
SAMPLE LETTER
Mr Ndleleni Duma
Dear Minister Duma, I am writing to urge you to give protection to baboons in South Africa. I was saddened to learn that these remarkable creatures are classified as "vermin" and may be shot at and killed by landowners. I consider this to be ethically unacceptable, particularly in South Africa which promotes itself as a top tourist destination for wildlife lovers. Recently, I learned of the fate of rehabilitated baboons which were released into The Dome Conservancy. I find it especially disturbing that these animals have been poisoned and shot in an area that should have afforded them protection. You are urgently requested to suspend the classification of baboons as vermin and revise the law to give these animals protection. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Name/Location 18. Sculptors' Society of Ireland recipes in bad taste ICABS has complained to the editor of The Visual Artists' News Sheet following the publication of a rabbit/ferret recipe. Published in the Domestic Godless section of the July edition of the newspaper, the recipe includes instructions on killing the rabbit and ferret as follows: "A sharp blow to the back of the neck will despatch both..." A photograph of a cowering rabbit being held by its ears appears to demonstrate the method. In our correspondence, ICABS remarked: "We would love to know what relevance catching and killing wildlife has to the visual arts." Responding, Jason Oakley, Publications Manager at The Sculptors' Society of Ireland, said: "the creators of our Domestic Godless column intend it to be read as a satirical, ironic and humorous. By no means is it meant to condone or encourage cruelty to animals. The Domestic Godless column is created by two visual artists who have shown similar works in public art galleries - this is basically why we see their work as relevant to our publication." "Let me stress again the authors of Domestic Godless and Sculptors' Society of Ireland have no wish to promote blood sports or other cruelty to animals," he added. Regardless of the stated satirical intentions, ICABS finds this recipe to be in bad taste and not at all humorous. The same can be said for the "Fois Gras" recipe which appears in the August/September edition of the publication. Producing fois gras, as a diagram alongside the recipe reminds us, involves cruelly force feeding a goose. 19. Avis denies bullfight sponsorship The Portugal branch of Avis Rent-a-car has moved swiftly to clarify its stance on bullfighting. A campaign spearheaded by Portuguese group, Animal Association, highlighted how the company's name was connected to two bullfights which were broadcast on TV and also to a bullfighting website. ICABS joined other groups in contacting the company. "We appeal to your company to please withdraw all support from bullfighting immediately," we stated. Responding to the complaints, an Avis spokesperson stressed that the company "is not and will not be a sponsor of bullfights". The statement explained that the Avis brand was used in connection with bullfighting without the company's permission: "As in prior years, Avis Portugal continues to make donations to...[Portuguese public TV station] Radio e Televisao de Portugal, which by its own initiative and without prior consent from Avis, included the Avis brand in advertising space broadcast by RTP. We have requested a formal apology from RTP for inappropriate usage of the Avis brand (without prior permission) by [Agencia Noticiosa Taurina/Bullfighting News Agency] and requested the immediate suspension of the [web]site or subsequent legal action by Avis against ANT. This can be confirmed by the effective withdrawal of the ANT site from the Internet and we expect to receive a letter of apology shortly." Avis added that it "does not wish to see its brand name unfairly associated with inappropriate activities in terms of animal rights and protection" and that "it is not company policy to sponsor or advertise activities that could in any way be seen as harmful to animals." ENFO has a range of attractive wildlife posters available to members of the public. There are several posters on offer including ones showing a hare, a fox, a hedgehog and a badger. To order a copy of an Enfo wildlife poster, why not visit: www.enfo.ie/fr_pub_1.htm "The obvious lack of public support for this two-day festival must have been an embarrassment to its organisers. No more than a couple of hundred people were seen on both days. The claims that 12,000 people attended are astounding to say the least." (from An Broc - newsletter of Badger Watch Ireland, Autumn 2004. The festival referred to is the controversial Failte Ireland-funded Clonmel Country Festival which was held in August.) "The Irish hare is a native species, which has been present in Ireland since the end of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago. Its Latin name is Lepus timidus hibernicus - timid is literally its middle name. These are shy animals that are sensitive to disturbance and are easily stressed." (Mike Rendle, Irish Hare Initiative, Glenlark Nature Reserve, October 2004). "Hunting foxes is not hunting to kill - it's part of the sport of watching the hounds work." (Kate Horgan, Chairman, Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association, on RTE's Questions and Answers programme, 20 September 2004). Responding to this, programme presenter, John Bowman, asked: "Have you consulted the fox about this?" "How can people who claim to care for the countryside drag dead horses through the streets of this city and call it a legitimate protest? Why do they always kill animals? You [the hunters] live in a parliamentary democracy. You lost the argument. Now respect what is soon to be the law of the land." (The UK's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, speaking at the Labour Party's recent conference in Brighton). "A collision with a stag while hunting with the Ward Union on Tuesday is likely to sideline champion jockey Paul Carberry until next week..." (Irish Independent, March 21, 2003). "Rangers in Killarney National Park are on the alert for gangs of professional poachers, amidst fears that there may be a repeat of attacks on red stag which took place last year. Concern has also been raised at the increase in vandalism in the park, with hedgerows ruined, car windows smashed and park rangers threatened by drunks holding parties in recent months. Last year, stags were beheaded on the foothills of Mangerton and their carcasses left to rot. Rangers and investigating gardai believed the heads were being sold as trophies. Mr Noel Grimes, chairman of the Kerry Red Deer Society, said the public revulsion at the beheadings last year from Ireland and abroad was astonishing. Mr Pat Foley, district conservation officer, said yesterday that gardai have been called on a number of occasions to deal with drinking parties taking place near the historic Killarney House in recent times." (Irish Times, 8th October 2004). The following extract from the Irish Independent refers to Michael Bailey who is a joint-master of the Ward Union Hunt: "Fianna Fail has been quick to disown its more unsavoury recent members in a damage-limitation exercise. Yet it continues to fraternise openly with Michael Bailey after the [planning] tribunal it established found that he had made corrupt payments to one of their most senior members, whom Bertie Ahern appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in his first government. The summer edition of the party's in-house magazine, The Nation, featured a full-page advertisement for Bovale [a property development company Michael Bailey co-owns with his brother] on its inside back cover. Every July, Michael Bailey, who used to be an active member of Ray Burke's constituency organisation in Dublin North, is a welcome guest in the Fianna Fail hospitality tent at the Galway Races." (Irish Independent, 25th September 2004). Animal Voice Newsletter Summer 2004 - Copies Still Available We still have copies of the Summer 2004 edition of Animal Voice available. If you would like one or more to give to friends, family, etc, please get in touch now. If you have an information stand where you could display copies, please let us know how many copies you would like and we will post them to you. We wish to increase the amount of people who are aware of our campaign so any help you can give would be fantastic. Thank you for subscriptions/donations Please consider becoming a supporter of ICABS. Annual rates are 20 Euro (Family), 15 Euro (Individual) and 8 Euro (Unwaged). Please contact us for the relevant forms or download them directly from our website: - Subscription Form ( www.banbloodsports.com/subsform.pdf ) If you wish to pay by direct debit, please contact us for a copy of our Standing Order form. Thank you to those who have sent in a subscription/donation since the last edition. Animal Voice - Subscribe
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