Irish hunting's bad year

national | animal rights | press release Thursday December 24, 2009 22:45 by Bernie Wright - Association of Hunt Saboteurs AOHS berniew at esatclear dot ie AOHS po box 4734. d1. 0872651720

Stag-hunts, fox hunts and antis

St Stephens Day and 2009 year end

The 26th December will as usual have every pack of hounds in the country well-turned out and doing their annual PR piece for hunting. This of course distracts from the fact that all hunts except drag hunts are out to kill and terrorise animals. After all that is why they exist- to abuse animals for fun. They admit it!.

ward union in Action

We are not too concerned about St Stephen’s day, a day more about pomp and ceremony than serious hunting, when many of the hunts are on their
best behaviour due to media attention. We care more about the hundreds of hunting days that take place each year when there is no press, or public focus
on the hunts and they are free do as they wish, dig out foxes, pursue stags on to the roads, throw live foxes to hounds and block badger setts and coverts away from prying eyes.

Irish hunting has had a very bad year - 2009.
Synopsed as follows;

• A serious drop in numbers out hunting, possibly due to the recession.-Irish field.

• A ban on the Ward Union Stag-hunt – effective after this season ends. March 2010.

• A refusal of an exemption for hunters in the upcoming puppy Farming bill -which they felt they should get. [What have blood sports enthusiasts got hidden in their kennels? Why has panic been whipped up as a response to a simple bill that will make regulations to control Commercial Dog Breeding Establishments which are simply defined as any where that keeps five or more breeding female dogs. ]

• Call for ban on hare and fox hunts .Sinn Fein Delagates backed an Ogra Shinn Féin motion calling “for a total ban on all blood sports, including hare coursing and fox hunting.

• The Hunting Association Ireland HAI struck off the companies register.-The Phoenix .

• The HAI has accumulated losses of 75,000 euro for 2007- Phoenix 3/7/09.

• High profile opposition to Hunting aired on the JOE DUFFY Liveline show recently after a Stag being chased by the Ward Union Hunt Club collided with a Mercedes and had to be euthanized on the side of the road due to serious injuries.

• An elderly woman, who was knocked unconscious and suffered injuries
after being struck by a flying hunt dog as it ricocheted off the bonnet of a car, has been awarded EUR 87,000 damages at the High Court. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1114/1....html

Members of the press are welcome to join a hunt saboteur group whenever they
wish to see the true face of Irish hunting.