 |
|
|
|
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
|
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
 |
|
||
adventure to the
north pole !!!
Dogs and Cats
who need a home
Some
of our
successful
rehoming !!!
****************************************************
Help Us Save the Seals..Latest from Humane Society
Sign
up for Seal Watch:
http://www.hsus.org/
Urge
Canada's Minister of International Trade to Stop the Seal Hunt:
https://community.hsus.org
***************************************************
Canadians head to Europe to lobby for seal hunt
Please
read below a news story that has just landed on our inbox. The Canadian
seals need our movement to do something now more than ever before, please
be there for the seals at ARAN's protest on Wednesday April 2nd in Dublin.
Animal Rights Action Network 'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland'
Canadians head to Europe to lobby for seal hunt Marianne White, Canwest
News Service Published: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 More On This Story
* EU studying 'inhumane killings of seals'
<http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=401433>
* More humane seal hunt takes to ice
<http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=364221>
Paul Darrow/ReutersTwo sealers drag their recently killed harp seals
towards their boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2005. QUEBEC -- As
the annual seal hunt gets underway Friday, a delegation of Canadian
officials and hunters will be heading to Europe to make a plea for the
industry, which has been criticized as cruel and could soon face sanctions
from the 27-nation bloc. The European Union is weighing a ban on the
import of all seal products from Canada to protest against the annual
harvest. A spokeswoman for EU environment chief Stavros Dimas told reporters
in Brussels Wednesday Mr. Dimas is "looking into the nature of
the inhumane killing of seals," and is drafting a text to be presented
before June. Mr. Dimas could then recommend that the EU follow the lead
of Belgium and the Netherlands, who have already banned the import of
seal products. The Canadian government is waging an aggressive diplomatic
battle against the possible ban and wants to make sure EU decision-makers
get fully briefed on the seal hunt before they are asked to vote. Canada's
ambassador for fisheries conservation Loyola Sullivan -- who heads the
delegation -- acknowledged that it won't be an easy task to overcome
the anti-sealing movement that has taken hold in Europe. "When
you put propaganda out in the public for years and years, spending millions
of dollars earned on false advertising by using images that no longer
exist in over 20 years, it's difficult to change people's minds when
they have formulated an opinion," Mr. Sullivan said in an interview.
"But we are not going to be bullied by a bunch of people spreading
misinformation about Canadians honestly earning a livelihood. We have
to stand on the principle," he added. A Europe-wide ban could be
catastrophic for the $33-million industry that is a mainstay of East
Coast communities. It would also mean Canada could no longer ship seal
pelts through European ports to major markets in China and Russia. Mr.
Sullivan's delegation -- which is going to Europe for the second year
in a row -- kicks off a 10-day visit to London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin
and Vienna on Saturday. He is taking along a number of Canadian officials
including the premier of Nunavut, Newfoundland's natural resources minister,
as well as seal hunters from Quebec's Magdalen Islands and Newfoundland.
Mr. Sullivan lamented the fact that animal rights groups often try to
sway opinion by showing images of cute and cuddly seal pups, and of
dead and bloodied seals on ice flows. Since 1987, it is illegal to hunt
whitecoat pups and hooded seal pups, who are newborn seals. "We
have to put our side of the issue on the table to make sure people don't
legislate based on emotion," he stressed. The Humane Society of
the United States, a leading opponent of the seal hunt, dismissed the
delegation as nothing more than a "SWAT team of lobbyists"
and reiterated its intention to oppose the annual hunt that will start
Friday in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, weather permitting. "The
seal hunt is the largest slaughter of mammals on earth and it's happening
in Canada. Moreover, the government is actively promoting it and
defending," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife
issues for the organization. For this year's culling, the government
set a quota of 275,000 seal harps out of a population of nearly six
million. Canadian officials have long maintained the hunt is well-monitored
and sustainable and Ottawa announced earlier this year that hunters
will now have to take extra steps to ensure the seals die humanely.
***************************************************
Don't let an animal suffer for a pair of shoes
You can help animals around the world who are cruelly mistreated by the leather industry by making a special gift to PETA. [http://getactive.peta.org/ct/edB96bs1VSsl/]
We have video footage documenting horrible conditions for cows, pigs, goats, and sheep-and even dogs and cats-in the leather industry. Animals are condemned to deplorable living conditions, deprived of food and water, transported in small cages, and crammed onto trucks. At slaughterhouses, they watch as other animals are skinned-often while still alive-and await the same gruesome fate.
Most leather is produced
in developing countries where there are no effective animal protection
laws whatsoever. Six years after a PETA investigation into the Indian
leather industry prompted the Indian government to promise to improve
conditions for animals killed for their skin, we have influenced many
major retailers to turn away from Indian leather-yet so very much suffering
still occurs. Animals are still grotesquely abused in
ways that violate Indian law and all standards of dignity and humanity.
We cannot let this continue.
PETA's investigators have seen cows have their throats cut with blunt instruments and be painfully castrated, dehorned, and branded-all without painkillers of any kind. At the end of their miserable lives, these gentle animals are hung upside-down, bled to death, skinned, and dismembered-for example, their hooves are cut off-often while they are still conscious.
But you can take important steps today to reduce this suffering. To start with, please pledge never to buy or wear any more leather products. Believe me, there are great alternatives available. And if you're as serious as I am about stopping the abuses inflicted by the leather industry, please make an online donation to PETA, [http://getactive.peta.org/ct/edB96bs1VSsl/] the one animal rights organization whose influence extends across borders.
PETA is now leading
a worldwide campaign to stop animal abuse in the leather industry. But
we need your help. We're taking on industry leaders in the United States
and overseas, serving as the only advocate for these abused animals. If
we are to win significant relief for animals-and we've won countless battles
against the factory-farming and fur industries already-we need you by
our side.
***************************************************
Urgent: Canada's Killing Date is 28th of March
Dear
ARAN Members & Supporters;
It's the news we did not want to bring you, but Canada's seal slaughter
is due to take place on March 28th. It remains the most vicious and shameful
slaughter of baby harp seals, the world's largest massacre of marine mammals.
Right now our friends at Respect for Animals http://www.respectforanimals.org.uk>
a UK based anti-fur campaign organization are in Canada along with Humane
Society of the United States
http://www.hsus.org/> to document this years slaughter and show the
world what Canada is desperate to hide. With the campaigners are teams
of
reporters from top media outlets including ITN and Sky News and UK celebrity
Alison Stedman who will also be on BBC on March 28th to talk about her
part on this campaign, their coverage will help expose the cruelty and
shameful, needless killing for what it really is. Today Sky News is highlighting
the killing and the campaign with an interesting feature on TV along with
coverage on their internet website.
Please click here <http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1310427,00.html>
to view Sky
News report of Canada's seal hunt and their interesting video of the campaign
too.
If you'd like to let the Canadian Embassy based in Ireland know how you
feel about Canada's heartbreaking slaughter please contact us right away.
If you've written before, please do so again.please email them here dubln@international.gc.ca
and if possible can you please call their switchboard to register a complaint
with the Ambassador's secretary? Number Is 01-2344000
Thank you for everything
you are doing to help animals and Canada's seals,
Animal Rights Action Network <http://www.aran.ie/>
Ps, please continue to log onto our website www.ARAN.ie to learn more
about our work to save Canada's seals.
***************************************************
The municipality of Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona) applies for a deferment to put down homeless animals.
*URGENT HELP:
*The municipality of Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona) applies for a deferment to put down homeless animals. *
In 2007 the prohibition to put down homeless animals entered into force.
Yet, the Generalitat
of Catalonia granted a one-year deferment to those municipalities that
had so requested, and this has happened again in 2008
and, thus, a new deferment has been granted to these municipalities and
they will continue to kill these animals.
*The next municipality to obtain this blood-stained deferment will be Sant Joan Despi. *
Are we going to remain impassive and let this slaughter of cats and dogs take place around us just because this is the "easiest" way to put an end to this problem? Once more, cats and dogs are voiceless victims, unable to decide or defend themselves. *But we DO HAVE A VOICE AND THE CAPACITY TO DECIDE* and we can collaborate in order to put an end to their extermination.
You know Spain as the land of culture and history, of sun and beaches, a marvelous place to visit. What you also must know is the extreme animal cruelty at the hand of much of the Spanish population.
Puppies bought as Christmas presents are abandoned when summer vacation arrives, resulting in numerous strays which are exposed to the elements, starvation, torture or killed on the roads. Those taken to municipal shelters are destroyed as well as they do not appeal to much of the public because they are no longer small and cute.
Private organizations and individuals rescue a small number of animals and, because of the reasons just mentioned, ship them to France, Germany or Holland with the hope that they will be adopted there.
Thousands of abandoned cats roam the streets and reproduce. Private rescuers try save as many cats as possible and have established controlled cat colonies. Using their own or donated funds, the cats are given veterinary care, are neutered and placed in a controlled colony where they continue to receive care and a proper diet.
But the majority of the Spanish people , including city councils, believe cats are vermin and have to be exterminated. The cats are poisoned, slaughtered, tortured. Children especially are very cruel to cats. And it is not only the cats that are threatened. Their rescuers also face personal danger from the public as well as destruction of the rescued cats in the controlled colonies. In Madrid, to encourage large colonies cats to disperse from residential areas, individuals feeding them are fined by the city councils.
The city council of Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona) is considering a new law to exterminate all abandoned animals that survive in the streets. We, their caretakers are trying to avoid this new law. Please help us to send an email to the city council and ask them to save these animals, not kill them.
PLEASE HELP and send
this protest letter along with our petition to the following address and
tell the city council of Sant Joan Desp� (Barcelona)
that, " The city council of Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona) is considering
a new law to exterminate all abandoned animals that survive in the streets
and we would like to prevent this from happening again. Please take
the time and show the world the compassionate side of the people of
Sant Joan Despi (Barcelona) by finding a safe place for these cats and
dogs that have been cruelly abandoned, and have had no choice in the
event of their lives. My family, myself , my friends and all animal
lovers of the world would not like to visit couturiers that treat animals
inhumanely."
Thank you for cooperating and for helping to spread this campaign on behalf of all those who cannot talk, those whose lives, perhaps, you will be saving.
*"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated"*
*Mohandas Gandhi*
**
*
http://www.firmasonline.com/1firmas/camp1.asp?C=1217
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/827680051
*
Please, sign the letter and forward it by e-mail to the next adresses:
jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es,premsa@mail.bcn.es,
premsa.president@gencat.net, cartalector@elperiodico.com,
cartas@lavanguardia.es, bcnweb@20minutos.es, noesven@20minutos.es,
cartes.cat@metrospain.com, lectores@quediario.com, barcelona@diarioadn.com,
redaccion.barcelona@quediario.com, cartas@abc.es, cartasdirector@elpais.es,
opinio@avui.cat, politica@avui.cat, elbuscador@telecinco.es,
protesteya@telecinco.es, informatius@rtvv.es, portiz@lasprovincias.es,
levante-emv@epi.es, cultura.val@metrospain.com, sucesos@rtvv.es,
investigacio@rtvv.es, dossiers@rtvv.es, gente.tve@rtve.es,
aquihaytomate@telecinco.es, herreraenlaonda@ondacero.es,
comoelperroyelgato@ondacero.es, cronicas.tve@rtve.es, decerca@rtve.es,
enportada.tve@rtve.es, inf.semanal@rtve.es, lanochetematica.tve@rtve.es,
reservanatural.rne@rtve.es, areasociedad.rne@rtve.es, lamanana@cope.es,
latarde@cope.es, cazaypesca@cope.es, hoyporhoy@cadenaser.com,
hora25@cadenaser.com, avivir@cadenaser.com, hablarporhablar@cadenaser.com,
siamanece@cadenaser.com, denuevea@cadenaser.com, serdigital@cadenaser.com,
diaadia@telecinco.es, antena3noticias@antena3tv.es, acienciacierta@rtve.es,
informativos.b.tve@rtve.es, deflector@eltiempo.com.co,
desayunos.tve@rtve.es,
miradas2@rtve.es, dir_barcelona.b.tve@rtve.es, jenaro.castro@rtve.es,
la2@rtve.es, europa.tve@rtve.es, la2noticias.tve@rtve.es, gente@rtve.es,
md@telemadrid.es, 30minutos@telemadrid.es, telemadrid@telemadrid.es,
telenoticias@telemadrid.es, enplenomadrid@telemadrid.es,
sinfronteras@telemadrid.es, micamarayyo@telemadrid.es,
matinstv3@tvcatalunya.com, redaccio@revistaeltriangle.com,
cdirector@estrelladigital.es, director@periodicoelcompas.info,
efebrero.s@tvcatalunya.com, ediciondigital@eldiarioalerta.com,
participa@elpais.es, cartas@larazon.es, cartas@libertaddigital.com,
redaccion@argenpress.info, info@argenpress.info, mati@catradio.com,
40madrid@los40.com, mensajesaleditor@ambitoweb.com, religiosos@cope.es,
comunicacion@cope.es, pnaranjo2004@yahoo.es, redaccion@lavanguardia.es,
redaccion.mdr@metrospain.com, girona@elpunt.com, autocontrol@autocontrol.es,
vozredaccion@elperiodico.com, redaccion@canarias7.es, planc@telecinco.es,
wmaster@rtvv.es, consellerbaltasar@gencat.net,
secretariageneral.dmah@gencat.cat, dgmn.dmah@gencat.net,
dtebre.dma@gencat.net, stbarcelona.dmah@gencat.cat,
stgirona.dmah@gencat.cat,
sttebre.dmah@gencat.cat, stlleida.dmah@gencat.cat,
sttarragona.dmah@gencat.cat, vicepresident@gencat.cat,
consellercastells@gencat.cat, justicia@gencat.cat,
consellertresserras@gencat.cat, conseller.iue@gencat.cat,
consellerbaltasar@gencat.cat, conseller.ptop@gencat.cat,
conseller.educacio@gencat.cat, consellera.salut@gencat.cat,
consellera.benestar@gencat.cat, gbpresident.presidencia@gencat.net,
lortiz@idescat.net, belengarcia@sjdespi.net, francescgifreu@sjdespi.net,
santjoandespi@socialistes.org, info@jscbaix.org, eltiempo.tve@rtve.es,
endiascomohoy@rtve.es, camara.abierta@rtve.es, radio4@rtve.es,
hora.america@rtve.es, informatius@barcelonatv.cat,
holabarcelona@barcelonatv.com, espaipublic@barcelonatv.cat,
patilatino@barcelonatv.cat, infosidiomes@barcelonatv.cat, matinstv3@tv3.cat,
lanitaldia@tv3.cat, agor@tv3.cat, redaccion@periodistadigital.com,
espana@elmundo.es, redaccion@elpais.com, participa@prisacom.com,
catalunya@elpais.es, mipais@elpais.es, nacional@elpais.es,
opinion@elpais.es,
comunicacio@acm.cat, comunicacio@fmc.cat, comissions6@fmc.cat,
c.pellicer.pu@ciu.info, c.vidal.hu@ciu.info, jm.pelegri@ciu.info,
j.raventos.pu@ciu.info, j.turull.ne@ciu.info, j.cleries.go@ciu.info,
j.ortega@ciu.info, j.rull.an@ciu.info, o.pujol.fe@ciu.info,
m.llorens@ciu.info, m.pifarre.ma@ciu.info, a.fernandez.te@ciu.info,
i.rigau.ol@ciu.info, a.castella@ciu.info, l.corominas.di@ciu.info,
m.borras.so@ciu.info, f.puig.go@ciu.info, n.degispert@ciu.info,
a.mas.ga@ciu.info, j.duran@ciu.info, j.maldonado.gi@ciu.info,
j.jane.gu@ciu.info, j.sanchez@ciu.info, c.campuzano.ca@ciu.info,
j.vilajoana.ro@ciu.info, i.guardans.ca@ciu.info, p.montserrat.ol@ciu.info,
info@socialistes.org, jmontilla@psc.es, premsa@xarxapsc.net, apoveda@psc.es,
apoveda@sjdespi.net, iniciativa@iniciativa.cat, cornella@iniciativa.cat,
baixllobregat@iniciativa.cat, sjdespi@iniciativa.cat, bcn@iniciativa.cat,
baixllobregat@esquerra.org, barcelona@esquerra.org,
regiometropolitana@esquerra.org, ines.ayalasender@europarl.europa.eu,
pilar.ayuso@europarl.europa.eu,
maria.badiaicutchet-assistant@europarl.europa.eu,
luis.yanez-barnuevogarcia@europarl.europa.eu, fconcord@retemail.es,
alejo.vidal-quadras@europarl.europa.eu,
daniel.varelasuanzes-carpegna@europarl.europa.eu,
elena.valenciano@europarl.europa.eu,
maria.sornosamartinez@europarl.europa.eu,
joseignacio.salafranca@europarl.europa.eu, raul.romeva@europarl.europa.eu,
teresa.rieramadurell@europarl.europa.eu,
francisca.pleguezuelosaguilar@europarl.europa.eu,
josu.ortuondolarrea@europarl.europa.eu, robiols@psc.es,
javier.morenosanchez@europarl.europa.eu,
cristobal.montororomero@europarl.europa.eu,
rosa.miguelezramos@europarl.europa.eu, willy.meyerpleite@europarl.europa.eu,
inigo.mendezdevigo@europarl.europa.eu,
manuel.medinaortega@europarl.europa.eu, jaime.mayororeja@europarl.europa.eu,
antonio.masiphidalgo@europarl.europa.eu,
miguelangel.martinez@europarl.europa.eu,
antonio.lopezisturiz@europarl.europa.eu, regional2.pv@pp.es,
esther.herranzgarcia@europarl.europa.eu,
david.hammersteinmintz@europarl.europa.eu,
cristina.gutierrez-cortines@europarl.europa.eu,
ignasi.guardans@europarl.europa.eu,
luis.degrandespascual@europarl.europa.eu,
vicentemiguel.garcesramon@europarl.europa.eu,
barbara.duhrkop@europarl.europa.eu, alejandro.cercas@europarl.europa.eu,
pilar.delcastillo@europarl.europa.eu
*An other example letter:*
*Mr. Francesc Gifreu i Jove, director of the Health Department of Sant Joan Despi,*
I am writing this letter in great distress because I have learnt that the Health Department, which you manage, intends to put down homeless cats and dogs in the municipality of Sant Joan Despi. Thus, I am writing to you out of courtesy in order to ask you not to set forth such an aggressive measure, which is improper of advanced countries and deprived of the least moral consideration towards animals.
I beg you to bear in mind that there is a progressively growing concern for these issues. In Catalonia, there have been and there will keep on being great advances towards the protection of animals and such advances are spreading through the rest of the Spanish territory.
In municipalities such as Mataro, there is a law enforcing zero sacrifice and the City Council has transferred lands to the Animal Protection Association so that pets, abandoned and lost animals do not have to wander about in the streets and may have a second chance and be adopted by people who love them, just as happens in the most advanced countries, in countries with a longest democratic tradition.
The measure that your Department intends to apply is unfair and improper of a civilised country, since, at present, we do have enough scientific knowledge and we know that animals suffer both physically and psychologically, and this is why they deserve moral consideration and the deepest respect.
As a Citizen, but,
mainly, as a person with ethic values, I hereby beseech you to reflect
upon this matter and to set aside green lands for animals so
that they may have the chance to be adopted by loving people.
Yours sincerely, though deeply disgruntled.
*First Name:*
***Surname:*
***National ID:*
***City:*
***Country:*
***Date:*
--
http://animalesdesantjoandespi.blogspot.com/
***************************************************
Tell Canada to end the seal hunt now
Urge Canada's Minister of International Trade to Stop the Seal Hunt
We're continuing our fight to protect baby seals.
Take action now to tell Canada's Minister of International Trade to stop the hunt!
Thank you so much
for standing with us in our fight to save baby seals. Our efforts are
making an impact and your continued actions bring us one step closer to
ending the annual commercial seal hunt in Canada.
But today the news from Canada remains bleak. The Canadian government
has ignored findings from independent scientists and veterinarians and
set the kill quota even higher than last year -- an astonishing 275,000
seals, almost all babies just days or weeks of age, will be clubbed and
shot over the next few months. Scientists warn that the seal hunt poses
a threat to the survival of seal populations, particularly as harp seals
now face the added threat of global warming. And veterinary panels have
concluded that the slaughter results in "considerable and unacceptable
suffering," noting that sealers often fail to comply with anti-cruelty
laws. That's why I'm asking for your help to send a strong message to
the Canadian government to end the seal slaughter.
Contact the Canadian Minister of International Trade, David Emerson, and
urge him to end the seal hunt.
The hunt is opposed by the overwhelming majority of people in Canada and around the world, and the Minister of International Trade, Mr. Emerson is in a unique position to stop it. But he must be convinced that the seal hunt damages Canada's economy and international reputation.
Click here now to tell Mr. Emerson that the seal hunt is bad for the Canadian economy
Thank you for everything you've already done to help save the seals. Together, I am confident that we can end Canada's cruel seal hunt forever.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
***************************************************
Boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing
The
GSPCA are calling on everyone to boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The cruelty inflicted on human and animal in China at present cannot be
ignored any longer. Cats are being rounded up and being beaten to death
with sticks or if they are lucky gassed. Dogs and cats suffer horrific
torture in this country and having the Olympics there is just plain wrong.
All that the Olympic games stand for is being abused by the Chinese Government
so please do not support the Olympics as you are supporting a regime that
is built on cruelty and oppression. Please join the global boycott and
read below for further details
Galway SPCA
*When
the first days of August of 2008 arrive, please, don't forget this message.*
This time, the Olympic
Games will be held in Beijing - China. As you know, this major sport event
is often associated with the values of tolerance, peace and friendship
among nations and among men.
However, China, the
host of the 2008 Olympic Games:
- Tortures and kills people that dare to have different political views.
- China skins dogs in cold blood and boils alive cats for the sake of
their fur industry.
- China illegally occupies a sovereign country - Tibet - oppressing its
people in barbaric ways.
What if your father
or sister were being tortured in jail? What if your pet was being kicked
or boiled to death? What if, one shiny day, you woke up and
realized that your neighbourhood was being plundered by foreign soldiers?
These are just some examples of the daily crimes commited by China against
children, women, men, animals and the environment... Because of political
and economic interests, there never was a global will to put the needed
amount of pressure upon the Chinese government in order to abolish such
cruel practices. Now, we will have a chance to do what the politicians
have failed to do.
Together, we will make a difference, because history shows that big changes
always happen when little things are done by many people at the same time.
*So, what can you do?*
1 - *Don't watch the
2008 Olympic Games*. Whenever the Games are being broadcasted (such as:
live transmissions or news reporting the event), just
switch your TV set to another channel, until you find some blood-free
station.
2 - *Don't buy any newspaper or magazine that depicts headlines or photos
related with the Games in its front cover page*.
3 - *Don't* *browse any internet link that reports any event related with
the 2008 Olympic Games* (exception made to the news that are about any
protest or boycott to the Games itself).
4 - *Forward this e-mail to everyone you know. Don't forget to send it,
also, to the people that you know in other countries*. Remember: we want
to
trigger a global protest, so.voice it through the world!
Let's send a clear
message to China and make their leaders understand that we demand them
to put an end to the bloodshed.
Let's send a clear message to the media and make them understand that
we are not interested in the coverage of an event that is taking place
in a
criminal country.
Let's send a message to the 2008 Olympic Games sponsors and make them
understand that we will not cooperate with the profit that they will try
to
take with the publicity made for the event.
Let's achieve the biggest media black-out of all history.
Time is running out.
Let's make everybody know this message before August arrives.
Thousands of lives may be in your hands.
Just one click away from your hand.
Let the world act.
Now. http://www.pbase.com/boogier/boycott_2008_olympics Warning - images on this link are graphic
For any remarks, suggestions,
comments or questions, please contact:
globalboycott2008@gmail.com
***************************************************
Irish
Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS)
PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland
Website: www.banbloodsports.com
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
In this edition
01. This St Patrick's Day, celebrate Ireland's wildlife heritage
02. Banned British hunters target Irish foxes
03. Hare hunters refused licence
04. RTE radio show provides platform for hunt misinformation
05. Heritage Council questioned over wildlife grant to gun club
06. Animal Voice - Print and distribute today!
07. Outrage at killing of "magnificent" neighbourhood fox
08. Irish Times poll captured only part of foxhunt opposition
09. Noel Treacy asked to stop pandering to hunters
10. View all ICABS videos on your mobile phone
11. New mobile campaign video
12. Letters to the Editors
13. Action Alerts: Ban Foxhunting
14. Action Alerts: Ban Coursing
______________________________________
01. This St Patrick's Day, celebrate Ireland's wildlife heritage
______________________________________
This St Patrick's Day, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling
on Ireland to celebrate our fabulous wildlife heritage. We are asking
people to become more active in the campaign against the blood sports
which result in Irish animals being cruelly abused and killed throughout
the countryside. ICABS wishes all its friends and supporters a Happy St
Patrick's Day.
To find out how you can help bring blood sports to an end in Ireland,
please visit the Join ICABS page. During the St Patrick's Day weekend,
please also spare a few minutes to respond to our urgent action alerts
below. Send a copy of the action alerts to your friends and ask them to
get involved. Thank you.
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland - Urgent Action Alert
Please contact your local TD and Senator and ask them to support the campaign
against blood sports in Ireland. Demand that they act urgently to protect
our wildlife heritage from the appalling acts of cruelty from hunters
and coursers.
For the names of your TDs, please click on your county on the Irish Government
website
Contact your TD at: Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin
2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337889 (1890 DEPUTY).
For a list of Senators, please visit the Irish Government website
Contact your Senator at: Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street,
Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623 (1890 SEANAD).
For more action alerts, please see items 13 and 14 below.
______________________________________
02. Banned British hunters target Irish foxes
______________________________________
ICABS has renewed its appeal for Irish wildlife to be protected after
learning that a British foxhunt was invited to Ireland to persecute our
foxes. The Limerick Leader has revealed that the Coniston Foxhounds and
their pack of 50 hounds came to County Cork this month to take part in
a hunting festival.
"As part of the Avand[h]u, County Cork hunting festival, Knocknagoshel
has been chosen for the date. Coming for the Hunt are a contingent from
the Conniston Foxhounds Club in England, with an array of fifty hounds,"
the Limerick Leader report outlined in a preview last week.
The Coniston hunt is based in Cumbria in the North West of England. Hunting
foxes with packs of hounds has been banned in the UK since 2005.
In a report in this week's Limerick Leader, the hunt was described as
having "an international flavour".
"For the first time ever a pack of hounds from overseas were seen
in action in this locality," it outlined. "After a brief photo
call outside the Village Inn, the Bugle sounded and hunters and hounds
proceeded up Bohereen Bui to commence hunting along the Cummer Glen. After
a slow start excitement mounted when a fox was routed in Knockane, this
ensued most impressive chase along the Owveg Valley, a number of other
hunts followed, before all retired for refreshments at the Village Inn."
ICABS is sickened to learn that not only are foxes being persecuted by
Irish hunters but that English hunters and hounds are now putting our
wildlife under even greater pressure. We have demanded action to be taken
by the Irish Government to secure protection for the fox species.
STAND UP FOR FOXES - ACTION ALERT 1
Please make a special appeal to Trevor Sargent TD, Minister of State at
the Department of Agriculture where new animal welfare legislation is
currently being drafted. ICABS welcomed a statement from Minister Sargent
last year in which he assured us that the new legislation will "ensure
that the welfare of animals is properly protected". Please appeal
to him to prioritise fox protection in the new act.
Trevor Sargent TD
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture
Email: tsargent@greenparty.ie
Tel: 01-6183465 (Dail)
Fax: 01-8900361
Dear Minister Sargent,
As one of the two thirds majority of Irish people who want foxhunting
banned, I appeal to you to please ensure that foxes are afforded full
protection from hunting groups in the new animal welfare legislation being
drafted. Please do everything in your power to finally bring foxhunting
to an end and protect foxes from this horrendous abuse.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
STAND UP FOR FOXES - ACTION ALERT 2
Urge the Minister for Agriculture to protect foxes and all wild creatures
from unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01-661 1013.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Dear Minister Coughlan,
I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to save foxes
from the barbarism of foxhunting. This blood sport is an abhorrent assault
on our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Please ensure
that Ireland's new animal welfare legislation includes protection for
foxes.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
______________________________________
03. Hare hunters refused licence
______________________________________
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports welcomes Minister John Gormley's
decision to refuse a licence for the hunting of hares with packs of dogs
during March. We are now calling on the Minister to work towards introducing
a year-round ban on this cruel blood sport.
Up to the end of February, the hunters are free to terrorise and kill
hares with packs of beagles, with no licence being required, despite the
fact that hares are designated a highly protected species in Ireland.
There are 129 harrier packs, which hunt both hares and foxes, while there
are 22 registered beagle packs hunting hares.
Hare hunting on foot with packs of dogs is a low profile blood sport,
with enthusiasts claiming that what they do is "harmless", but
hares do die horrendous deaths by being ripped apart by packs of dogs,
after being terrorised and chased to exhaustion. A report on the Westmeath
Beagles in Hounds magazine in 2006 revealed that having taken an "hour
to shift her (the hare) out towards the rushy field at the foot of the
medieval church...she succumbed to the pack," gaining the hunters
their "first notch on the kennel door" for the season.
A Dublin motorist who witnessed a hare kill described the sickening scene
as follows: "A hare came running down the road. I didn't realise
what was happening for a moment until a pack of hounds appeared from round
the corner. I got out of the car to try and do something but the hounds
had caught up with the hare and totally demolished it. All that was left
was a tiny piece of fur blowing in the breeze."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling for a year-round ban
on this cruel abuse of Ireland's most gentle and defenceless wild creature.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley (Green Party), to thank
him for his decision to refuse a hare hunting licence for March. Appeal
to him to urgently work towards securing full protection for hares by
banning hare hunting and hare coursing.
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.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I wish to thank you for refusing a licence for hare hunting during March.
This commendable move will go some way towards protecting our precious
and unique hare species from persecution.
Minister, as you are aware, hares continue to be cruelly abused at other
times of the year by groups involved in hare coursing and hare hunting.
This despite the fact that the Irish Hare is a protected species and an
important part of our wildlife heritage.
Your decision to refuse the March licence is very much welcomed by the
majority who want hunting and coursing banned. We all hope that this will
prove to be just the first step towards affording hares the full protection
they deserve.
Thank you, Minister.
Yours sincerely,
Name/Location
______________________________________
04. RTE radio show provides platform for hunt misinformation
______________________________________
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has contacted RTE after a radio
programme profiled a hunter who outrageously branded foxes as "vermin"
and anti-hunt campaigners as "no good for society". The "Curious
Ear" show also gave the hunter an opportunity to make the erroneous
claim that hunting with packs of dogs is part of nature.
ICABS has asked RTE to stop providing hunters with a platform for spreading
misinformation. We have also appealed to them to redress the balance by
featuring an anti-hunt campaigner in a future episode.
If you would like to hear the show for yourself, please click on this
RTE website link:
http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2008/pc/pod-v-ce-sun090308-curiousear-huntsman.mp3
(mp3 file)
Among the misinformation presented on the show by the hunter was:
Hounds are bred to hunt "the same as a cat is bred to catch a mouse".
The truth: Before foxhounds will chase a fox, they have to be introduced
to fox blood. This deplorable practice takes place before the start of
the hunting season when hunts bring their new hounds to a fox covert and
urge them to attack and kill young fox cubs. This is known as cub hunting,
or, in euphemistic hunting terms, "Autumn Hunting".
"Just because some people think it's cruel catching a fox, you can't
stop nature"
The truth: Chasing a fox with a pack of hounds is certainly not a part
of nature.
"[Anti-hunt campaigners] have no idea of country life or the way
it works, they are no good for society"
The truth: Successive opinion polls in Ireland have shown that a majority
of people in both urban and country areas are opposed to foxhunting. It
is an insult to those living in the countryside to suggest that they are
incapable of recognising animal cruelty and opposing it.
"Healthy foxes rarely get killed"
The truth: All kinds of foxes get killed during hunts - the healthy ones
and the ones not fit enough to run from the pack of hounds. It is the
healthy foxes which hunts undoubtedly prefer to chase as they provide
them with longer runs across the countryside. When these foxes are so
exhausted that they can run no more, they are knocked off their feet and
ripped apart by the pack.
"Foxes are vermin - foxes will kill everything"
The truth: All the scientific evidence shows that the fox is not a significant
pest to either sheep or poultry farmers. The Department of Agriculture,
Teagasc and the National Parks and Wildlife Service agree that foxes are
not a major threat to farmers. The Department of Agriculture recommends
to farmers that they "should not allow foxhunts to traverse fields
with livestock". The fact is that foxes can be a valuable asset to
farmers by, for example, keeping down the numbers of rabbits, voles and
rats which form a natural part of their diet. Hunters never mention this,
of course.
ICABS ACTION ALERT
Please contact RTE and ask them to redress the balance by featuring an
anti-hunt campaigner on a future episode of the "Curious Ear"
programme.
Ronan Kelly
Producer
The Curious Ear
RTE
Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Email: curiousear@rte.ie
______________________________________
05. Heritage Council questioned over wildlife grant to gun club
______________________________________
The awarding of a wildlife grant to a gun club has been questioned by
ICABS Vice President, Tony Gregory, TD. The Leitrim shooting group received
4,000 Euro from the Heritage Council under its 2007 Wildlife Grants Scheme.
ICABS is calling for groups connected to wildlife killing to be excluded
from future grant schemes.
In a Dail Question to Environment Minister John Gormley, Deputy Gregory
questioned the appropriateness of giving a grant to a gun club. Although
the Minister outlined that he is not responsible for choosing grant recipients,
he confirmed that the Council's function is to "propose policies
and priorities for the...protection, preservation and enhancement of the
national heritage."
In a letter to the Heritage Council, ICABS asked how they could justify
a wildlife grant to a group involved in shooting wildlife. The grant was
for a red grouse habitat survey and habitat management plan.
Responding, Heritage Council, Wildlife Officer, Cliona O'Brien stated:
"Council assessed the project application on its own merits, determined
the project met the relevant criteria and was awarded a grant."
The gun club which received the grant is affiliated to the National Association
of Regional Game Councils whose members are responsible for the killing
of tens of thousands of wild creatures every year.
In 2006, following representations from ICABS to the Heritage Council
(relating to a massive grant for the eradication of rabbits from an island),
we were led to believe that in the future, the Heritage Council would
consider avoiding projects with connections to animal killing.
A Heritage Council spokesperson stated at the time: "The Heritage
Council will address this more seriously in the grant programme from here
on out. I would hope that for the 2007 round of grant awards, policy advice
in this area will have been developed and issued from the Heritage Council
where necessary."
ICABS has renewed its appeal to the Heritage Council to give a commitment
that no further funds will be awarded to groups involved in the killing
of Irish wildlife. Please help by responding to the action alert below.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact the Heritage Council and ask them to exclude from its grant
schemes any group connected with killing animals.
Cliona O'Brien,
Wildlife Officer,
Heritage Council,
Rothe House, Kilkenny.
Email: cliona@heritagecouncil.com
Tel: 056 7770777
______________________________________
06. Animal Voice - Print and distribute today!
______________________________________
The February-March edition of Animal Voice is now available to download
as a printable pdf file. Please help spread the word about the campaign
against blood sports - download and distribute Animal Voice today.
Download now from http://www.banbloodsports.com/pdfs/av08-0203.pdf (15
A4 pages; pdf; 146 Kb)
______________________________________
07. Outrage at killing of "magnificent" neighbourhood fox
______________________________________
The shooting of a fox by a Dublin golf club has left locals outraged.
The fox, which the club claims was damaging greens, has been described
by neighbours as a magnificent and fascinating creature. According to
a report in the Irish Independent, a woman and her two children were in
a "terrible state" after witnessing the shooting.
ICABS shares the outrage of residents at the killing of this fox. We have
told Milltown Golf Club that foxes should be viewed as an asset in that
they add to the character of the course and that most golfers cherish
the sight of wildlife. We have urged the club to consider non-lethal methods
if foxes really need to be deterred.
It is heartening to learn that those living in Milltown value the presence
of foxes in their neighbourhood. The vast majority of citizens, both urban
and rural, have a genuine appreciation for wildlife and would welcome
increased protection from the kind of wanton destruction displayed on
the local golf course. It's time now for our animal welfare laws to be
updated to give wild animals the same protection as domestic animals.
Foxes continue to be among Ireland's most abused species. In the countryside,
they are erroneously demonised out of all proportion and suffer relentless
and widescale persecution. They are shot, usually at night by gunmen,
who use high powered lamps to dazzle the creatures (gun clubs even compete
on the numbers of foxes shot). They are also dug out of their earths and
attacked underground by terriers where horrific battles take place, resulting
in terrible injuries to both dogs and fox. They are hounded around the
countryside by mounted hunters and packs of hounds, and if caught, they
are ripped apart; if they find sanctuary underground, they are dug out
by the hunt terriermen to meet their fate. They are also caught in snares
where they die slow and agonising deaths. All this vile activity is carried
out for "sport", thinly masquerading as so-called pest control.
However, foxes are not considered a major agricultural threat, according
to experts. Incidents of predator attacks on lambs, including attacks
by dogs and other animals, while dramatic and upsetting, are relatively
low statistically. According to figures quoted by Teagasc in an article
in the Irish Independent last year, the leading causes of lamb deaths
were starvation and exposure to the elements 30%, difficult lambing 25%,
infectious diseases 20%, and physical injury 15%. Furthermore, in 1992,
a pilot study on lamb losses (Dept. of Agriculture Veterinary Lab, Athlone)
showed generally similar results, with redation (including all kinds of
predators) and misadventure (accidents, drownings, etc.) combined, cited
at only 5%. The UK Ministry of Agriculture found much
the same, citing predation at a mere 1%, adding that they did not consider
foxes to be a significant factor in lamb mortality.
Meanwhile, Zoologist and author, Prof. James Fairley, in his 'An Irish
Beast Book', deals with the erroneous perception some people hold, saying:
"A great deal many allegations of lamb killing are based on insufficient
or even non-existent evidence. When interviewing farmers, I found that
in some cases, a dead, unwounded animal or the mere disappearance of a
lamb were attributed to the work of the fox." Another Zoologist,
Dr AD Scott, BSc PhD MBOU, concurs: "I've worked at fox dens in all
areas covering every aspect of prey possibilities. I've observed what
adult foxes have brought in, I've analysed countless numbers of scats
or droppings, and also the stomach contents of many animals. Game birds
were insignificant, and so too were poultry, and the only two lambs I've
ever found at dens were already dead before they were carried in. They
were in fact carrion mutton."
ICABS ACTION ALERT
Please contact Milltown Golf Club and appeal to them to stop killing wildlife
which comes on to their course. Tell them that the presence of wildlife
adds to the atmosphere and character of a golf course and that many golfers
would cherish the sight of a fox. Encourage them to use non-lethal methods
if they really need to deter foxes.
Denis McDowell
President
Milltown Golf Club,
Lower Churchtown Road,
Milltown, Dublin 14
Email: info@milltowngolfclub.ie
Tel: +353 1 497 6090
Fax: +353 1 497 6008
_______________________________________
08. Irish Times poll captured only part of foxhunt opposition
_______________________________________
ICABS is happy to note that a recent Irish Times opinion poll has again
confirmed that a majority of Irish people want foxhunting banned. However,
we wish to reveal that due to a concerted effort by international hunting
networks, the online poll only partly captured the opposition to this
cruel activity.
Hunting forums confirmed the cynical strategy, with hunters boasting that
they spent hours clicking on the "No" button.
"It takes multiple votes," exclaimed one hunter excitedly. "I've
lost count of the number of times I've voted," responded another.
It became what one described as a "worldwide battle" with hunters
from every corner of the globe being drafted in to help sway the outcome.
Even the Virginia-based Masters of Foxhounds Association of America lent
their support. "You can vote as many times as you like," Executive
Director, Lt. Col. Dennis J. Foster, announced. "Please help our
Irish Brothers and vote to save foxhunting."
This is not the first poll overrun by hunters desperate to twist the truth.
Last year, a Cork radio station complained that a local survey became
the focus of British hunters so enthusiastic to cast their text votes
that they crashed the system. Previously, a poll on the ISPCA website
was targeted by serial clickers who delighted in seeing support for their
blood sport apparently increasing.
The reality - as confirmed by a scientifically conducted Millward Brown
poll - is that a mere 16 per cent of people want foxhunting to remain.
In stark contrast, 68 per cent view foxhunting as cruel, with 64 per cent
favouring a total government ban.
______________________________________
09. Noel Treacy asked to stop pandering to hunters
______________________________________
In a letter to the editor published in the Galway Independent this week,
the Irish Council Against Blood Sports has suggested that insead of pandering
to hunters, Noel Treacy, TD should "respect the overwhelming wishes
of the electorate and commit to safeguarding our wildlife heritage".
Please see below for the full text of the letter along with an action
alert to Deputy Treacy.
Massive majority want ban on blood sports by Philip Kiernan, Irish Council
Against Blood Sports Galway Independent - 5th March 2008
Dear Editor,
'When I was in charge of the Wildlife Service, I got constant letters
from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports to ban hunting and only ever
got one letter pro-hunting,' Noel Treacy, TD was quoted as saying in the
Galway Independent of 23 January 2008.
Addressing hunters at a meeting in Ballinasloe, the former Minister of
State suggested that this could be a case of complacency on the part of
the blood sport enthusiasts.
The more likely explanation for Deputy Treacy's anti-blood sports postbag
towering over a solitary letter is that a massive majority in this country
want a ban on activities involving animal cruelty.
Most agree that it's totally unacceptable to unleash a pack of hounds
to chase a fox for hours before ripping it to bits. Also predominantly
opposed is the snatching of thousands of hares from their habitats and
forcing them to run for dear life in front of greyhounds.
This has been confirmed by the latest Millward Brown opinion polls which
found that around two out of every three Irish adults want the government
to outlaw foxhunting and hare coursing.
Instead of pandering to a merciless minority, Deputy Treacy should respect
the overwhelming wishes of the electorate and commit to safeguarding our
wildlife heritage.
ACTION ALERT
Remind Deputy Noel Treacy that a majority of Irish people, (including,
presumably, a majority of the Galway electorate) want blood sports banned.
Ask him to stop standing up for animal cruelty which results in wildlife
enduring unimaginable suffering and the most horrific of deaths.
Noel Treacy, TD
Cross Street
Athenry, Co. Galway
Email: noel.treacy@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 091-844360
Fax: 091-844360
______________________________________
10. View all ICABS videos on your mobile phone
______________________________________
Thanks to Youtube Mobile, millions more people are now be able to witness
the cruelty of blood sports in Ireland. With the ability to watch all
of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports' videos on a compatible mobile
phone, our campaign is set to reach an even wider audience nationally
and around the world.
Anyone with a phone which supports RTSP streaming can view the ICABS videos
by accessing: http://m.youtube.com/icabs
Note: The videos are free to view but please be aware that you will be
charged by your service provider based on the amount of data downloaded.Please
check rates before viewing videos on your mobile phone.
The videos may also be viewed online at www.youtube.com/icabs or by clicking
on Videos at www.banbloodsports.com
Among the range of videos currently available to view on the ICABS channel
are:
* Ban Foxhunting in Ireland
* Ban the Ward Union Hunt
* Carted deer hunting - Blood Sports in Ireland
* Hare Coursing - Blood Sports in Ireland
* Mink Hunting - Blood Sports in Ireland
* Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
* The truth about foxes
* Slideshow - Ward Union deerhunt
* The Irish Hare
* Paddy Power's Gruesome Bets
* Cockfighting - Blood Sports in Ireland
* Landowners and hunts
* Ward Union: Drag hunt possibility
* Hunts on our roads - Ireland
* Drag Coursing - The humane alterative
* Drag Hunting 1 - The humane alterative
* Drag Hunting 2 - The humane alterative
ACTION ALERTS
Please help expose the cruelty of blood sports in Ireland. Tell others
about the ICABS video channel and ask them to join the campaign against
these cruel activities:
* www.youtube.com/icabs (Online)
* http://m.youtube.com/icabs (Mobile)
Help educate your local politicians about the cruelty of blood sports
by urging them to watch the videos. Ask them to give a commitment that
they will work towards banning foxhunting, hare coursing, mink hunting
and carted deer hunting in Ireland.
Display one or more videos on your website. To copy the display codes,
please visit our Videos page and click on the video links. Thank you.
To find out more about the technical requirements of compatible phones,
please see below.
Will my mobile device work with YouTube Mobile? (Source: Youtube)
There are 2 technical requirements you have to meet in order to watch
videos on YouTube Mobile from your mobile device:
1. Your device has to support RTSP streaming. To determine if your mobile
device supports this type of streaming, you may want to check your device's
manual to find a description of its specifications.
2. Your service carrier has to allow streaming videos. You may want to
contact your carrier for more information about the availability of data
streaming on your mobile device.
For more information about using YouTube Mobile, you can go to www.youtube.com/mobile
from your computer's browser.
______________________________________
11. New mobile campaign video
______________________________________
Now you can use your mobile phone to help expose the cruelty of foxhunting.
Download our new campaign video on to your 3G phone or mp3/mp4 player
and play it to your friends, family and workmates. Ask them to join the
call on the government to ban this deplorable blood sport.
Ban Foxhunting in Ireland - 3gp video http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs3/fh.3gp
(3gp file, 57 seconds, 1.2 Mb)
1. Download Now on to your PC and transfer to your compatible 3G mobile
phone *.
2. Download directly on to your 3G mobile phone - enter the Internet or
Web menu of your phone and input http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs3/fh.3gp
(This is a free video but you will be charged your standard network rate
for connecting/downloading. Please check with your service provider for
rates before downloading).
3. Show the video to as many people as possible
4. Ask them to contact their local TDs, Senators and Councillors with
the message: "I support a ban on foxhunting in Ireland".
Ban Foxhunting in Ireland - mp4 video http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs/fh.mp4
(mp4 file, 57 seconds, 5.9 Mb)
1. Download Now and transfer on to your mp4 player (or mp3 player with
video playing capability) *.
2. Show the video to as many people as possible
3. Ask them to contact their local TDs, Senators and Councillors with
the message: "I support a ban on foxhunting in Ireland".
Ban Foxhunting in Ireland - mtv video http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs2/fh.mtv
(mtv file, 57 seconds, 3.8 Mb)
1. Download Now and transfer on to a portable media player which plays
.mtv format video files *.
2. Show the video to as many people as possible
3. Ask them to contact their local TDs, Senators and Councillors with
the message: "I support a ban on foxhunting in Ireland".
_______________________________________
12. Letters to the Editors
_______________________________________
Only thing to be learned from hunting debate is that hunters are bullies
by Muriel Hayden, Graigabbey, Athenry, Co Galway Galway Independent -
12 March 2008
Dear Editor,
I attended a debate 'That this house would ban hunting' on Wednesday 5
March in NUI, Galway.
While I am totally opposed to hunting along with all forms of animal cruelty,
I listened intently to the speakers who opposed the motion to learn just
what they had to say.
One of the main points made by the pro-hunters was that they were doing
the country a favour by controlling the numbers of foxes. However one
PhD student stated that he does not know how many foxes are actually in
Ireland. His entire research was based on UK figures (where fox hunting
has been banned). The other core point made by the pro-hunter side was
that they are only hunting sick and old foxes and that the young, fit
animals get away. I fail to see the logic in this.
The pro-hunting audience continuously heckled, jeered, interrupted and
booed at every anti-hunt speaker. It seemed like a hunt was taking place
in the theatre. I took grave exception when Mr Scallan said that all country
people agree with hunting. I live in County Galway and I certainly do
not. I did not learn anything that night that would even start to change
my mind. The one thing I did learn was that the hunters are bullies.
Until we stop harming other living beings, we are still savages by A Herbert,
Ballybrit, Galway Galway Independent - 12 March 2008
Dear Editor,
When is a debate not a debate? When one side of the debate seeks to bully
and intimidate the other side into submission.
This was certainly the case at last week's NUIG Inter-Societies Debating
Forum when many of those supporting the motion for the debate 'That This
House Would Ban Hunting' were laughed at and ridiculed by the opposing
faction.
This debate may have been an academic exercise for the students of the
Inter-Societies Debating Forum, but their organisers were visibly shocked
at the levels of aggression they had to contend with from the pro-hunting
lobby, and for this their chairperson, who did his best to keep order
throughout, should be congratulated.
The pro-hunting lobby, having been bussed in from the four corners of
Ireland to support their cause, grossly outnumbered the anti-hunters.
This is, of course, not the fault of the hunters, but it does indicate
their determination to fight their corner.
Poll after poll reveals that 80 per cent of the Irish population stand
firmly against hunting of all species as a sport. It is a great pity that
this 80 per cent did not bother to turn up to this debate, perhaps believing
that the debate was an 'open and shut' case for the anti-hunters.
At no point throughout the evening was the pro-hunting lobby able to produce
one piece of accurate factual evidence to support its argument that hunting
is the optimum method of population control.
One of the two main pro-hunting platform speakers admitted that he had
no idea how many foxes are in Ireland, yet he and every supporting speaker
vowed that hunting was necessary to keep down numbers. This illogical
admission was shortly followed by a figure of ?280 million being quoted
as hunting's contribution to the Irish economy. On questioning, the same
speaker could not stand over this figure or enlighten the audience on
how it had been calculated.
Illogical, irrelevant arguments were cast around like confetti, with the
real issue of the debate being carefully air-brushed out; this being that
hunters hunt for the thrill of the chase and the buzz they get from terrorising
outnumbered animals, be those animals wild foxes or tame deer.
Anti-hunters had to endure the usual catalogue of clichés such
as: urban v rural (only 'townies' are anti-hunting and pro-hunters are
the real guardians of the countryside), as well as: foxes enjoy the run
and mostly outrun their predators. If this is the case, then how could
fox hunting possibly be a viable method of population control?
More pro-hunting illogical statistics told the audience that 80 per cent
of foxes are not hunted at all, and of the remaining 20 per cent, 80 per
cent of those escape. From my calculations that means that only four per
cent of foxes are ever caught, and that these are supposedly elderly,
sickly animals. And this is supposed to be a serious argument for population
control?
All arguments put forward from the pro-hunting side were pretty much an
insult to the intelligence of the average person. Most of the pro-hunting
speakers for example insisted that wild animals, such as foxes and deer,
do not possess the human feelings of terror or pain.
I suggest that any person, from any background, who has watched a tame
(carted) deer running for its life by the very people who feed it, or
witnessed hounds ripping apart a fox, which has sometimes been thrown
to them by the hunters themselves, would be ashamed to be classified as
a member of a human race that brags about possessing a higher intelligence.
The true essence of a higher intelligence is evidenced when it is combined
with compassion and respect for all forms of life, and to rejoice in sharing
our planet with every creature that supports Earth's eco-system.
It's a pity that Thomas A Edison could not have attended this 'debate'.
Maybe those who hunt for fun would have respected his words:
'Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution.
Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages'.
Irish hare is thrown lifeline by John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny
Irish Independent - 11th March 2008
I am delighted to learn that Environment Minister John Gormley has moved
to protect Ireland's hare population during the month of March - part
of the sensitive breeding season.
In previous years the country's 22 registered beagling clubs, not content
with five full months of organised bloodletting, requested and received
government approval to pursue their obsessive killing of hares into March.
This meant that breeding females could be legally baited in that month.
Some day, hopefully, the Irish hare will be protected from all forms of
cruelty, the whole year round; but Mr Gormley's initiative represents
an important milestone along the road to abolition.
Online Comments: If you'll pardon the phrase, it's about bloody time!
The sooner all bloodsports (how is it "sport"?!) are banned
outright in this country, the better. Posted by Gavin, 11.03.08
Massive majority want ban on blood sports by Philip Kiernan, Irish Council
Against Blood Sports Galway Independent - 5th March 2008
Dear Editor,
'When I was in charge of the Wildlife Service, I got constant letters
from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports to ban hunting and only ever
got one letter pro-hunting,' Noel Treacy, TD was quoted as saying in the
Galway Independent of 23 January 2008.
Addressing hunters at a meeting in Ballinasloe, the former Minister of
State suggested that this could be a case of complacency on the part of
the blood sport enthusiasts.
The more likely explanation for Deputy Treacy's anti-blood sports postbag
towering over a solitary letter is that a massive majority in this country
want a ban on activities involving animal cruelty.
Most agree that it's totally unacceptable to unleash a pack of hounds
to chase a fox for hours before ripping it to bits. Also predominantly
opposed is the snatching of thousands of hares from their habitats and
forcing them to run for dear life in front of greyhounds.
This has been confirmed by the latest Millward Brown opinion polls which
found that around two out of every three Irish adults want the government
to outlaw foxhunting and hare coursing.
Instead of pandering to a merciless minority, Deputy Treacy should respect
the overwhelming wishes of the electorate and commit to safeguarding our
wildlife heritage.
Foxhunting and abuse of foxes - a Mullingar viewpoint Philip Kiernan,
Irish Council Against Blood Sports Topic Newspapers - 6th March 2008
Dear Editor
Just weeks after the Westmeath Hunt admitted mercilessly digging a fox
out of its earth and seeing hounds tear it asunder, fresh details have
emerged about this group's appalling abuse of foxes.
According to a report in the Irish Field last month, a fox terrorised
by the hunt was forced to swim twice across the Royal Canal in a desperate
bid to save its skin.
"The fox and the pack swam across the canal," the disturbing
report reveals, "and continued along the banks to the Mullingar/Ballynacargy
Road". From here, "the fox, with four and a half couple (9 hounds)
in pursuit, swam the canal again before retracing their steps back to
Newman's Bog."
This relentless harassment of foxes is typical of the cruelty inherent
in hunting but it serves as a stark reminder that wildlife is being brutally
abused on our own doorstep. The Irish Field described the 40 minute chase
as "a really exciting run" during "a great day of sport"
but anyone with an ounce of compassion would find this utterly distasteful.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports hopes that the canal fox's ordeal
will make local landowners consider the cruelty they are facilitating
by inviting hunts on to their land. We ask all landowners to please stand
up for our wildlife heritage by posting "No Hunting" signs along
property boundaries and putting a notice in The Topic warning hunts to
stay away.
We also appeal to hunt followers who are uncomfortable with the cruelty
to press for a changeover to draghunting. This 21st Century alternative
will not take away your enjoyment of following hounds along waterways,
over stone walls and across bogs.
_______________________________________
13. Action Alerts: Ban Foxhunting
_______________________________________
ACTION ALERT 1
Please make a special appeal to Trevor Sargent TD, Minister of State at
the Department of Agriculture where new animal welfare legislation is
currently being drafted. ICABS welcomed a statement from Minister Sargent
last year in which he assured us that the new legislation will "ensure
that the welfare of animals is properly protected". Please appeal
to him to prioritise fox protection in the new act.
Trevor Sargent TD
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: tsargent@greenparty.ie
Tel: 01-6183465 (Dail). Fax: 01-8900361.
Dear Minister Sargent,
As one of the two thirds majority of Irish people who want foxhunting
banned, I appeal to you to please ensure that foxes are afforded full
protection from hunting groups in the new animal welfare legislation being
drafted. Please do everything in your power to finally bring foxhunting
to an end and protect foxes from this horrendous abuse.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 2
Urge the Minister for Agriculture to protect foxes and all wild creatures
from unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510. Fax: 01-661 1013.
Dear Minister Coughlan,
I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to save foxes
from the cruelty of foxhunting. Foxhunting is an abhorrent assault on
our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Please ensure
that Ireland's new animal welfare legislation includes protection for
foxes.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 3
Please urgently appeal to your local politicians
Please join us in telling all of Ireland's TDs that it is now time to
replace foxhunting with the humane alternative - drag hunting. Drag hunting
sees the hounds chasing an artificial lure instead of a live animal. 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.
Please stand up for the foxes so cruelly abused by hunting groups - write
to all of your local politicians and ask them to act to secure a ban on
foxhunting. If possible, get your friends, family and workmates to contact
them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible.
Write to your TD at:
Dail Eireann, 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 the Irish
Government Website.
ACTION ALERT 4
Contact Ireland's forestry board, 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 foxhunts
to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the appalling
cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish people want
it 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]
_______________________________________
14. Action Alerts: Ban Coursing
_______________________________________
ACTION ALERT 1
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to
give a commitment that this will be the last ever hare coursing season
in Ireland.
Sample Letter
(Please compose your own personal letter if possible. If you do not have
time to do this, please send the short sample letter below. Be assertive,
but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I am writing to implore you to firmly reject future licence applications
from the Irish Coursing Club. Hare coursing is one of Ireland's most appalling
forms of animal abuse with thousands of hares being ripped from their
natural habitat and forced to run for their lives before muzzled dogs.
When hit, the injuries are often so severe that the terrified hares have
to be destroyed - but only after suffering from stress, internal injuries
such as broken bones.
In its pre-election manifesto, the Green Party pledged to ban blood sports
when in government. I am among the confident majority who trust that you
will take this historic opportunity, Minister, to spare the hares the
suffering caused by coursing and refuse further licences to these heartless
destroyers of our wildlife heritage.
Thank you and best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Name/Location
ACTION ALERT 2
Please contact your local TD and Senator and ask them to make an appeal
to Minister Gormley on your behalf.
For the names of your TDs, please click on your county at http://www.oireachtas.ie/members%2Dhist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=30&disp=const
Contact your TD at: Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin
2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337889 (1890 DEPUTY)
For a list of Senators, please visit http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=23&disp=mem
Contact your Senator at:
Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623 (1890 SEANAD)
______________________________________
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
______________________________________
Become a supporter of ICABS
______________________________________
Please become a supporter of ICABS. 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 "Donate" button. Thank you. Your support will allow us to
continue campaigning against blood sport cruelty in Ireland.
______________________________________
Animal Voice - subscribe/unsubscribe
______________________________________
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@banbloodsports.com with "Animal Voice - Subscribe"
in the subject line.
If you wish to be removed from this emailing list, simply reply with "Animal
Voice - Unsubscribe" in the subject line. We respect your privacy
and will never pass your email address on to anyone else unless we have
your permission. Thank you for your continued support.
****************************************************
Archangel Bloody Seal Pup Slaughter Halted
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3542189.ece
March 13, 2008
A harp seal pup
The blood of baby seals stains the snow red during the traditional cull in the Archangel region of northern Russia each March. But the slaughter of thousands of seals, many only a few days old, has been halted this year amid protests by celebrities and environmental groups, and calls for hunting to be outlawed.
Officials in Archangel insisted that the cull had been cancelled to protect the hunters, not the seals, because ice sheets close to the White Sea were too thin to walk on.
The decision, however, came at a time of heightened protests by animal rights groups. Russian television broadcast a demonstration in Archangel by a group of celebrities and prominent journalists against the practice.
Hunters were shown clubbing baby seals with ice picks, leaving them to bleed to death before they were skinned for their white fur. One report showed a seal struggling for life in icy water surrounded by its own blood.
“They are very much like human babies - they cry and call for their mum the same way,” one protester, Laima Vaikule, a Latvian pop singer, said. Viktor Gusev, a sports commentator who was also protesting, said: “I am sure that there is need for a serious draft law to put an end to those killings.”
About 335,000 people have signed a petition against the hunting of baby seals, according to Oleg Mitvol, the powerful deputy chief of the Russian environmental monitoring agency. It noted that the killing of the youngest seals, known as whitecoats, “is authorised only in Russia”.
Annual quotas allow up to 35,000 baby seals to be killed in the White Sea during ten days in March, according to the State Committee for Fisheries. Sergei Tarasov, deputy chief of the regional committee in Archangel, told The Times: “If the ice was harder then of course there would be a hunt, but the ice is too weak and it's too dangerous for people. I myself went out in a helicopter to check it.”
But a spokeswoman for Nikolai Kiselyov, the Governor of Archangel, said that the regional administration was seeking to end the cull. She said: “We have asked the state committee to work on legislation to ban this trade for humanitarian reasons.” The ban has angered local villagers, or Pomors, who claim that the trade is vital to their survival. Pavel Osipov, the leader of one community, said that it posed “a serious threat to the centuries-old Pomor fishing tradition”.
Fur coats remain de rigueur for most Russian women and there is no stigma attached to wearing one. Environmental activism is in its infancy, although public outrage at the risk of pollution from a planned oil pipeline within 800 metres of Lake Baikal prompted President Putin to order last-minute changes to the route in 2006.
Mr Putin vetoed legislation in 2000 that would have banned seal hunting despite a 273-1 vote in favour in parliament. Russia has a strong tradition of hunting for sport and attempts to curb it would be politically unpopular.
****************************************************
United States Marine Corps responds to ASPCA request to release findings of investigation of the Iraq Puppy
USMC
RESPONDS TO ASPCA REQUEST TO RELEASE FINDINGS OF INVESTIGATION SURROUNDING
SHOCKING VIDEO
On Friday, March 7, the ASPCA issued a press release urging the United
States Marine Corps (USMC) to release the findings of its investigation
of a video clip that appeared last week on several popular Internet sites.
The grainy video shows a member of the military—seemingly a Marine—flinging
a puppy across a rocky landscape. The video caused public outcry, and
was featured on television news programs and covered by major news agencies,
including the Associated Press. Although audio irregularities have caused
some question about the video’s authenticity, the USMC has gone on
record, deeming its content "deplorable" in a March 5 statement.
“The ASPCA understands and shares the outrage generated by this video,” says ASPCA President & CEO Ed Sayres. “With 66 percent of American households owning pets, we are clearly a country and a society that values the human-animal bond. It is horrifying that a member of the United States military—a body of people tasked with upholding the honor of our country—would perform such a cruel and deliberate act against a defenseless animal.”
The ASPCA also urged concerned citizens to contact the USMC to voice their outrage. Response to our release by humanitarians nationwide was enormous—and prompted communication from BGen Robert E. Milstead, Jr., Director, Marine Corps Public Affairs. “I have a dog and a cat, both rescued, so I can understand the disgust and outrage felt by those who have viewed the deplorable video of a Marine throwing a small puppy off a cliff,” writes BGen Milstead. “I can tell you that an official investigation is underway. The results of this investigation will establish the facts. Facts, not emotion, will be the basis used by these Marines' commanders in their determinations to include appropriate punishment. The actions of these Marines are clearly not consistent with that of the overwhelming majority of Marines who serve our nation with both courage and honor. Again, I understand everyone's outrage and demand for swift justice, but due process is a right afforded to all.”
If you have not already
done so and wish to comment on the incident, the USMC encourages you to
contact the Public Affairs Office of Marine Corps Base Hawaii (where the
Marine believed to be in the video is stationed) at mcbh.pao.fct@nmci.usmc.mil.
****************************************************
A dolphin
has been hailed as a hero after it came to the aid of two whales that
were beached with seemingly no hope of rescue.
The pair of pygmy sperm whales were stuck on the shore of New Zealand's
North Island. Although a group of (human) conservationists had tried to
free them for an hour, they were about to give up.
But then, according to reports, a bottlenose dolphin known as Moko "appeared,
communicated with the whales and led them to safety."
"I don't speak whale, and I don't speak dolphin," one local
man told the BBC. "But there was obviously something that went on....
The dolphin did
what we had failed to do."
****************************************************
Most of you have already heard about the barbaric hanging of nine dogs in Kardamena - a popular holiday resort (!!) on the Greek island of Kos. There is now a 'slides show' on You Tube about this horrible matter .... It's under 'Animal Abuse on Kos - Greece': http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IEHRREbMwss .......... If you are not registered with You Tube, it's very easy to do so and I hope that you will!!!
Can
you also PLEASE send this email to everybody you know. We would like thousands
of people to 'click' on the slides show AND, most importantly, leave comments,
because in due course, the site will be brought to the attention of the
Mayor of Kardamena and to the local/national Greek newspapers. We need
to let the mayor and all the people of Kos know that tourism on Kos and
especially in Kardamena, will be badly affected unless the authorities
do everything in their power to identify AND prosecute the evil murderer(s).
It appears that hanging of stray and unwanted dogs in that area is NOT
UNCOMMON, therefore we must all do what we can to prevent future atrocities
from being committed. It is hoped that the offer of the reward (put up
by GAR and one of GAR supporters) will tempt somebody to come forward.
We are sure that many people in Kardamena, especially the farmers, KNOW
who is responsible for the hanging and it's likely to be more than one
person.
A few dozen posters (in Greek) have already been distributed in Kardamena
and some also in Kos town. Earlier I 'made' a poster in English (because
many ex-pats live in Kardamena), which will be printed by Jaana and distributed
likewise.
I know you are all inundated with requests to write letters, sign petitions
etc etc, but I sincerely hope that you will respond to the appeal in this
email; thank you.
Vesna
****************************************************
07 March
2008
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports welcomes Minister John Gormley's
decision to refuse a licence for the hunting of hares with packs of dogs
during March. We are now calling on the Minister to work towards introducing
a year-round ban on this cruel blood sport.
Up to the end of February, the hunters are free to terrorise and kill
hares with packs of beagles, with no licence being required, despite the
fact that hares are designated a highly protected species in Ireland.
There are 129 harrier packs, which hunt both hares and foxes, while there
are 22 registered beagle packs hunting hares.
Hare hunting on foot with packs of dogs is a low profile blood sport,
with enthusiasts claiming that what they do is "harmless", but
hares do die horrendous deaths by being ripped apart by packs of dogs,
after being terrorised and chased to exhaustion. A report on the Westmeath
Beagles in Hounds magazine in 2006 revealed that having taken an "hour
to shift her (the hare) out towards the rushy field at the foot of the
medieval church...she succumbed to the pack," gaining the hunters
their "first notch on the kennel door" for the season.
A Dublin motorist who witnessed a hare kill described the sickening scene
as follows: "A hare came running down the road. I didn't realise
what was happening for a moment until a pack of hounds appeared from round
the corner. I got out of the car to try and do something but the hounds
had caught up with the hare and totally demolished it. All that was left
was a tiny piece of fur blowing in the breeze."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling for a year-round ban
on this cruel abuse of Ireland's most gentle and defenceless wild creature.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley (Green Party), to thank
him for his decision to refuse a hare hunting licence for March. Appeal
to him to urgently work towards securing full protection for hares by
banning hare hunting and hare coursing.
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.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I wish to thank you for refusing a licence for hare hunting during March.
This commendable move will go some way towards protecting our precious
and unique hare species from persecution.
Minister, as you are aware, hares continue to be cruelly abused at other
times of the year by groups involved in hare coursing and hare hunting.
This despite the fact that the Irish Hare is a protected species and an
important part of our wildlife heritage.
Your decision to refuse the March licence is very much welcomed by the
majority who want hunting and coursing banned. We all hope that this
will prove to be just the first step towards affording hares the full
protection they deserve.
Thank you, Minister.
Yours sincerely,
Name/Location
****************************************************
Help Stop the Cruelest Show on Earth
For
elephants, tigers, horses, and other animals, a Ringling tour means another
year of beatings and long days chained or confined to cramped, poorly
ventilated boxcars. The circus's cruelty to animals is indisputable.
Two PETA investigators tracked Ringling at nearly every stop on its 2006 tour. They documented on videotape that Ringling employees engaged in hideous acts of cruelty to animals in full view of the public. For instance, trainers aggressively hooked elephants with bullhooks, even causing a bloody wound. So you can imagine the hideous abuse that goes on behind the scenes. Former Ringling animal crew employees came forward with allegations of a 30-minute beating of a chained elephant that left her bleeding profusely. These beatings are absolutely horrible to watch and are even worse for elephants to endure.
You can take action today to help end these hideous practices by signing our petition to Ringling.
The abuses that PETA has uncovered have led to multiple open investigations of Ringling by the U.S. government and have cost the circus a national tour sponsor. But Ringling still refuses to retire its abusive animal acts.
Can I count on your support to help stop Ringling's abuse in the name of family entertainment? I sincerely hope that the answer is "Yes!" You and I are the only hope that these animals have.
Thank you for caring about animals.
For all animals,
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
PETA
501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510
United States
****************************************************
US Soldier throws puppy off cliff for fun [Warning - Adults only - Horrific Video Clip]
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/fight-puppy-killing-soldiers
Petition:
Stand Against Puppy-Killing Soldiers
...Recently, a video clip surfaced of a US soldier and his buddy throwing
an innocent puppy off a cliff in what looks like Iraq. You're there to
defend America and bring freedom, not needlessly kill animals!..[Exerpt
- follow above link to read more and sign petition]
****************************************************
Important Update: ARAN's Stop Canada Killing Seals Protest
Important
date and location change for ARAN's Canadian seal protest
Dear ARAN Members & Supporters,
We are writing to update you on our planned protest against Canada's seal
hunt this week. We have re-scheduled our protest to a new date, time and
location, so please take note of these important details below.
Date: Sunday March 9, 2008
Time: 1 - 3pm Sharp
Place: GPO Post Office, O'Connell Street, Dublin
We are counting on all our caring members and supporters that read this
email to come along and join in with our peaceful protest. We'll need
you
to hold banners and placards or help distribute educational leaflets to
curious passersby. We'll have fantastic professionally printed placards
and a huge vinyl banner that gets tons of attention from passing traffic
and members of the public, it certainly gets the seals attention they
so desperately
deserve. The aim of our protest this coming Sunday is to draw attention
to Canada's cruel seal hunt to members of the public. It's an issue our
members and the public feel very strongly about and it's evident in the
amount of people who wish to support our protests over the years.
Please do everything you can to make sure you attend our peaceful protest
this coming Sunday, bring your family, friends and of course spread the
word via this email far and wide - help create awareness of cruelty to
animals!
Keep up the amazing work you are all doing to help animals, Animal Rights
Action Network appreciates everything you do,
For all animals,
Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland'
www.ARAN.ie
Ps, please click here <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk7UxzaKVpQ&feature=related>
for a great video on the Canadian seal campaign and find out why your
attendance at our peaceful rally this coming Sunday is so vitally important
to help raise awareness of this brutal massacre of innocent seals and
please keep visiting our website which is updated weekly.
****************************************************
Galway University Foxhunt Debate Please Support
From:
Irish Council Against Blood Sports <info@banbloodsports.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:50:06 -0000
To: ICABS Supporter <info@banbloodsports.com>
Subject: Please join us for Galway University foxhunt debate
Please join us for Galway University foxhunt debate 28 February 2008
Please join us for a debate on foxhunting at Galway University this coming Wednesday, March 5th at 7pm. The debate is to be chaired by RTE¹s Jim Fahy and will feature anti-hunting presentations from Green Party Councillor, Niall O'Brolchain, and Olivia Lally of NUIG Animal Rights Society.
They will be debating against Countryside Society's David Scallan and Gavin Duffy of the Hunting Association of Ireland.
Hunting debate - Full details
Location: O'Flaherty
Lecture Theatre National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), University
Road, Galway (Tel: 091 524411)
Date: Wednesday, March 5th Time: 7pm
For driving directions, please visit maps.yahoo.net <http://maps.yahoo.net/ >
Thank you. We look
forward to seeing you there.
Video: The cruelty of foxhunting (Duration: 06:27 minutes)
To view, please click on "Videos" at www.banbloodsports.com
<http://www.banbloodsports.com >
Irish Council Against Blood Sports PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath,
Ireland
Email: info@banbloodsports.com
<mailto:info@banbloodsports.com>
Website: www.banbloodsports.com <http://www.banbloodsports.com >
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap <http://www.banbloodsports.com/wap
>
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs <http://www.youtube.com/icabs >
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports <http://www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
>
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports <http://www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
>
****************************************************
Pets
For HillaryHillary is JOINING
forces with NATIONWIDE ANIMAL ACTIVIST here with the ASPCA COMMUNITY FOR
JUSTICE NATIONWIDE FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY AND PREVENTION AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
ONCE AND FOR ALL, No animal will ever have to be left behind in disaster
cases ever again. She is stepping up to speak for the innocent and the
voiceless. This also includes farm animals, animals abused in China, domestic
and more...
Support Hillary with us in this campaign and mission.
Pets For Hillary
Is your pet an ardent Hillary Clinton for President Supporter? Share a
photo of your animal friend supporting Hillary in 2008. In April we will
have a competition to elect the pet mascot of the Hillary for President
Campaign!
Submit a Photo of Your Pet
Take a photo of your little Hillary fan showing their support. Try and use a prop like a:
· Hillary Bumper Sticker or Lapel Sticker
· Hillary Rally Sign
· Printed Sign From Our Website
Visit Here to enter your pets supporting Hillary Clinton
ALL Animals For Justice Once And For ALL!!
****************************************************
Help
Humane Society International lead the opposition on Japan’s Whale
Hunt!
The quest to stop Japan’s whaling hunt has been met with ups and downs, small victories and upsetting setbacks.
Support Humane Society International’s efforts to end whaling once and for all!
I'm excited to tell you that Humane Society International (HSI) won its lawsuit when the Australian Federal Court ruled that a Japanese whaling company is in breach of Australian Law by killing whales in Australian waters that are designated as a whale sanctuary.
This historic ruling marks the first time that Japan has been taken to domestic court to account for its illegal whaling program. HSI hopes that Japan will take this as a cue to end the gruesome whaling process once and for all.
There is still work to be done. Donate today >>
Now, HSI is calling on three major Japanese seafood conglomerates to use their power and influence to put a permanent end to Japanese whaling. Together, the companies owned Japan’s major commercial whaling company and controlled its slaughtering operations dating back decades.
HSI feels it's not enough that these companies got out of the business, and thereby enabling the killing to continue. These seafood conglomerates are obligated to make amends by actively trying to stop the whale hunt altogether.
please make a contribution and help HSI lead the opposition on Japan’s whale hunt today >>
Thank
you,
Breeana L.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team
****************************************************
Irish
Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS)
PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland
Website: www.banbloodsports.com
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
01. Please join us for Galway University foxhunt debate
02. Minister urged to revoke deer hunt licence
03. New ICABS Banner: Please display today
04. Galway fox chased for 80 minutes
05. Appalling hunt cruelty: Fox forced to swim for its life
06. RTE classifies coursing as sport: Join our appeal now
07. Coursing cruelty highlighted to Clonmel mayor
08. Irish tour company responds positively to bullring appeal
09. Don't extend beagling season: Appeal to Minister
10. Coming soon to cinemas: The Fox and the Child
11. Galway SPCA criticises local TD for blood sports support
12. New Petition: Ban Blood Sports in Ireland in 2008
13. New Campaign Poster: "No Hunters, No Hounds"
14. Irish MEP is "odd man out" in support for cruel seal hunt
15. Coursing cruelty captured by media
16. New documentary about hunter turned campaigner
17. Bovine TB rises despite badger massacre
18. Protest coverage on RTE News
19. Fantastic Fox Photos
20. Tesco criticised for greyhound racing promo
21. Birwatchers flocking to online cinema
22. Campaign Quotes
23. Letters to the Editors
24. Coursing's Catalogue of Cruelty
25. Police will punish acts of cruelty: Brazilian official
26. Action Alerts: Ban Foxhunting
27. Action Alerts: Ban Coursing
_____________________________________
01. Please join us for Galway University foxhunt debate
_______________________________________
Please join us for a debate on foxhunting at Galway University this coming
Wednesday, March 5th at 7pm. The debate is to be chaired by RTE's
Jim Fahy and will feature anti-hunting presentations from Green Party
Councillor, Niall O'Brolchain, and Olivia Lally of NUIG Animal Rights
Society.
They will be debating against Countryside Society's David Scallan and
Gavin Duffy of the Hunting Association of Ireland.
Hunting debate - Full details
Location: O'Flaherty Lecture Theatre National University of Ireland, Galway,
University Road, Galway (Tel: 091 524411)
Date: Wednesday, March 5th
Time: 7pm
For driving directions, please visit maps.yahoo.net
Thank you. We look forward to seeing you there.
_______________________________________
02. Minister urged to revoke deer hunt licence
_______________________________________
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling on Environment Minister,
John Gormley, to urgently revoke the licence he issued to the Ward Union
carted deer hunt in December. Our appeal comes in the wake of the High
Court's granting of an injunction to the hunt, preventing the Minister
from imposing the conditions that disallowed them from using dogs to chase
the deer and forced them to capture the deer before unleashing the pack.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has always contended that this
hunt is illegal and should never have been licensed under the Wildlife
Act, because the deer hunted by the Ward Union are farmed deer, not wild
animals, and therefore not subject to the Wildlife Act.
This contention has been borne out in a legal opinion which concludes
that the Ward Union hunt is "illegal" under the 1911 Protection
of Animals Act, and that it shouldn't be licensed under the 1976 Wildlife
Act (Professors Clive Symmons and William Binchy of Trinity School of
Law, November 2007)
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Urgently contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him
to immediately revoke the licence he issued to the Ward Union in December.
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.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I am writing to urge you to immediately revoke the licence granted to
the Ward Union hunt last December. 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.
As a Green Party Minister opposed to blood sports, I trust that you will
do everything in your power to end the Ward Union's terrorisation of deer.
Please urgently revoke the licence and refuse further licences to this
cruel hunt which a majority of people in County Meath and many more
around Ireland and the world want stopped.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
______________________________________
03. New ICABS Banner: Please display today
_______________________________________
Help spread the word about the campaign against blood sports in Ireland.
Please display the new ICABS banner on your website or profile page.
Thank you.
To display the banner on a website page, please copy and paste the following
code into your page:
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs3/banbloodsports2.swf"
width="392px" height="72px"></embed>
To display the banner on a MySpace profile page, please use the following
code:
<a href = "http://www.banbloodsports.com" target = "_blank"><img
src = "http://homepage.eircom.net/~icabs3/banbloodsports.gif"
border = "0"></a>
For more linking options, please click on Links at www.banbloodsports.com
_______________________________________
04. Galway fox chased for 80 minutes
_______________________________________
A fox had to endure a gruelling 80 minute chase during a hunt in County
Galway, according to an Irish Field report. "As soon as [the huntsman]
cast his pack in Pump Bog, they found a fox and were away for what was
to be a run of one hour and twenty minutes," the report stated, adding
that the hunt terrier was among the dogs chasing the unfortunate fox.
The report on the Grallagh Harriers suggests that this particular fox
managed to get away but it's more than likely that the creature was in
a poor state afterwards. Research has shown that foxes chased by hounds
suffer internal injuries, leaving them at risk of dying even if they eventually
escape.
ACTION ALERT
Please help foxes by responding to our "Ban Foxhunting Action Alerts"
[26] below and forwarding them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
05. Appalling hunt cruelty: Fox forced to swim for its life
_______________________________________
A fox being chased by a pack of hunt hounds was forced to swim across
a canal twice in a desperate bid to try and save its life. ICABS has asked
landowners to help protect wildlife from this appalling abuse by banning
hunts from their property.
This latest instance of hunt cruelty was outlined in a report about the
Westmeath Foxhounds published in the Irish Field (2nd February 2008).
This is the same hunt which, last December, admitted mercilessly digging
a fox out of its earth and seeing hounds tear it asunder.
"The fox and the pack swam across the canal and continued along the
banks to the Mullingar/Ballynacargy Road," the disturbing report
reveals. From here, "the fox, with four and a half couple (9 hounds)
in pursuit, swam the canal again before retracing their steps back to
Newman's Bog."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports dreads to think of the awful fear
and suffering endured by the fox as it did everything it possibly could
to try and lose the pack.
We have this week appealed to landowners in Westmeath to consider the
canal fox's terrible ordeal and consider the cruelty they facilitate by
inviting hunts on to their land. "Please stand up for our wildlife
heritage by posting 'No Hunting' signs along property boundaries and putting
a notice in your local paper warning hunts to stay away," we appealed.
We also asked hunt followers uncomfortable with the cruelty to press for
a changeover to draghunting. We told them that "this 21st Century
alternative will not take away your enjoyment of following hounds along
waterways, over stone walls and across bogs but it will ensure that a
day's sport will never again depend on a bedraggled fox drenched in canal
water and sweat running to save its life."
Please help foxes by responding to our "Ban Foxhunting Action Alerts"
[26] below and forwarding them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
06. RTE classifies coursing as sport: Join our appeal now
_______________________________________
RTE is defending its decision to include hare coursing in a radio sports
report. ICABS has urged the station to stop presenting animal cruelty
as sport, saying that "many would struggle to comprehend how sport
could ever encompass an activity based on greyhounds chasing hares and
causing
them stress, injury and sometimes death."
Responding to our appeal from earlier this week, a spokesperson for RTE
said that the station "neither approves nor disapproves of coursing"
but
that since it is legal, they will continue to cover it.
Peter Feeney, RTE's Head of Public Affairs Policy, defended this decision
on the basis that the blood sport "remains supported by many people
in Ireland". This claim has been strongly refuted by ICABS.
In an email to RTE today, ICABS stressed that coursing is very much a
minority activity and that many people actually want it outlawed by the
government.
"Every survey since the 1970s has shown that most people want it
banned," we stated. "The latest opinion poll from Millward Brown
(2007)
found that 72 per cent of respondents believe coursing is cruel, with
a massive 68 per cent favouring a ban. We can assume from this that the
majority of licence fee payers would find the portrayal of animal cruelty
as a sport to be highly offensive and inappropriate."
ICABS also challenged a suggestion that including coursing in a sports
report was consistent with RTE's policy of fairly reflecting all sides.
"We welcome RTE's balanced coverage of this issue on Six One News
but the radio report certainly didn't 'reflect fairly all sides',"
we stated. "We hope RTE can side with the majority of Irish people
and stop giving positive coverage to coursing in the future."
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging RTE to keep cruelty out of its sports reports.
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise,
feel free to send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite,
in all correspondence. Thank you.)
RTE Radio
Donnybrook
Dublin 4
Email: info@rte.ie
CC: info@banbloodsports.com
Tel: 01 208 3111. Fax: 01 208 3080.
Dear RTE,
I wish to express my great disapproval of RTE Radio's inclusion of hare
coursing in a sports report earlier this month. Coursing should never
be classified as a sport by your station - it is one of Ireland's worst
forms of animal cruelty and a majority of people in Ireland want it banned.
RTE - Please keep cruelty out of your sports reports!
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
[Name/Location]
______________________________________
07. Coursing cruelty highlighted to Clonmel mayor
_______________________________________
The mayor of Clonmel has been asked to consider the cruelty of coursing
and stop supporting the blood sport. The call comes after the Progressive
Democrats councillor was pictured in a local paper at the town's coursing
finals.
In a letter to Mayor Richie Molloy, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports
expressed disappointment that he deemed it appropriate to attend an event
involving cruelty to animals.
"Considering the animal cruelty involved in coursing and the fact
that a huge majority of Irish people want this blood sport banned, we
hope that you can reconsider your stance," we stated.
Cllr Molloy was also provided with extracts from National Parks and Wildlife
Service reports which reveal how hares continue to suffer during coursing
meetings. The documents refer to a hare which "had a badly broken
hind leg and seemed to be in great distress", a hare "carrying
a hind leg", a hare suffering from "a damaged hind toe"
and a hare which "squealed with distress and/or pain" after
being "tossed and badly mauled".
Please join us in our appeal to Mayor Molloy to rid his town of this shameful
animal cruelty festival. Suggest that Clonmel's image would benefit from
the replacement of hare coursing with the humane alternative, drag coursing.
ACTION ALERT
Ask Mayor Molloy to shun animal cruelty and stop supporting coursing meetings
held in Clonmel. Tell him that coursing involves a long line of cruelty
from the moment the hares are netted from the wild up to the moment they
are forced to run for their lives in front of the greyhounds. Ask him
to watch our coursing video - www.youtube.com/icabs - which shows just
some of the maulings suffered by hares during coursing meets.
Councillor Richie Molloy
Mayor of Clonmel
Clonmel Town Council
Clonmel, Co Tipperary
Email: cllrrichie.molloy@southtippcoco.ie
Tel: (052)-29362 or 086-1967482
MORE ACTION ALERTS
Please help hares by responding to our "Ban Coursing Action Alerts"
[27] below and forwarding them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
08. Irish tour company responds positively to bullring appeal
_______________________________________
An Irish tours company has responded positively to an ICABS appeal for
the Ronda bullring to be excluded from future itineraries. Primera Tours
has this month announced that they will "review our excursion programmes
with regards to visits to a bullring".
According to a newspaper advert for the company, this year's April and
May tour is set to take in Ronda where visitors will be brought on a "half
day sightseeing tour to include Plaza de Toros [bullring]". The company
has indicated, however, that from next year, bullrings will be avoided.
In its appeal to the company, ICABS stated: "We hope that Primera
Tours can show compassion for the animals abused at this venue and choose
a
different sightseeing destination instead. Regardless of whether or not
a bullfight is taking place during a visit, tourist support for bullring
tours and museums help to keep bullfighting alive at a time when interest
in the activity is waning and more and more people are condemning it as
the cruel and inhumane animal abuse that it is."
Responding, a spokesperson for Primera Tours said: "We have taken
your comments on board and we will review our excursion programmes with
regards to visits to a bullring for our next brochure."
ICABS has thanked the company for this response. We will continue our
appeal to all Irish travel companies to avoid bullfighting venues.
ACTION ALERT
Help highlight the cruelty of bullfighting. Please download and distribute
our anti-bullfighting leaflet
The message on this year's leaflet is: "Have happy holiday memories
- This summer, boycott bullfighting".
* Please give a copy of the leaflet to your friends before they leave
on holidays.
* Ask your travel agent to display a copy.
* When you arrive at your holiday accommodation, ask if you may display
a copy in the reception area.
Download the leaflet now!
http://www.banbloodsports.com/pdfs/bullfighting-2007_A4_poster.pdf
(pdf, 1.9 Mb)
_______________________________________
09. Don't extend beagling season: Appeal to Minister
_______________________________________
ICABS has appealed to Green Party Minister, John Gormley, to refuse a
season extension to beagling clubs.
In previous years, the beaglers have succeeded in getting a licence to
practise their blood sport into March.
ICABS understands that no licence is required by hunts to target hares
during the open season (September - February) but if they want to extend
their hare persecution period, a licence must be sought from the National
Parks and Wildlife Service.
Beagling involves a pack of hounds chasing a hare in the open countryside.
Hares are faster than the hounds, but the hounds are bred for stamina
and can usually outrun their quarry. When they catch up with the unfortunate
hare, they move in and kill as a pack. It can take minutes for hounds
to tear a live hare apart.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to
refuse a licence to beagling clubs.
Sample Letter
(Please compose your own personal letter if possible. If you do not have
time to do this, please send the short sample letter below. Be assertive,
but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I support the Irish Council Against Blood Sports call on you to firmly
refuse a licence to beagling clubs to carry out their cruel blood sport
in March. I hope that not only will they be refused this licence but that
your Department will introduce a total ban on beagling and give this precious
species the protection it deserves.
Thank you, Minister.
Yours sincerely,
Name/Location
_______________________________________
10. Coming soon to cinemas: The Fox and the Child
_______________________________________
Described as a cross between a fable and a nature documentary, The Fox
and the Child is the latest offering from Oscar-winning director Luc
Jacquet ("March of the Penguins"). This highly anticipated family
drama follows the friendship between a 10 year old girl and a wild red
fox and
the obstacles they have to overcome along the way. The kind-hearted youngster,
played by French actress Bertille Noël-Bruneau, becomes the
fox's protective guardian as he faces continuous danger from hunters and
other animals.
Says director, Luc Jacquet: "This film is a fable that reflects the
relationship man has with animals and nature. It is our hope to reveal
the wonder of nature that surrounds us every day."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is very much looking forward to
seeing The Fox and The Child. It will no doubt help to win many more
friends for one of Ireland's most persecuted creatures.
Distributed by Pathe International, the film is expected to reach Irish
cinemas this Spring.
View the trailer at: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=nyqq87u4GPw
Download some beautiful desktop wallpaper images at: http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/movie/fox_the_child_the/index.html
_______________________________________
11. Galway SPCA criticises local TD for blood sports support
_______________________________________
The Galway SPCA has criticised local TD, Ulick Burke over his support
of blood sports.
Reporting on a pro-hunt meeting attended by Deputy Burke, the Irish Farmers
Journal stated: "FF back bencher Noel Treacy made good his support
for fieldsports, as did East Galway FG TD Ulick Burke."
"The majority of the people he represents are opposed to hunting
and we ask that they lodge a complaint to him," the GSPCA said in
a statement.
Please contact Deputy Burke at:
Ulick Burke, TD
Constituency Office
Barrack Street,
Loughrea, Co. Galway.
Email: Ulick.Burke@finegael.ie
Tel: 091 847437. Fax: 091 847438
_______________________________________
12. New Petition: Ban Blood Sports in Ireland in 2008
_______________________________________
Now available for download is the new ICABS petition calling on the government
to ban blood sports in 2008. Please download today and collect signatures
among your family and friends.
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland in 2008 (English text) http://www.banbloodsports.com/pdfs/2008_petition1.pdf
Cuirtear cosc le spoirt fola in Eirinn i 2008 (Irish text) http://www.banbloodsports.com/pdfs/2008_petition2.pdf
If it's more convenient for you, please sign and encourage others to sign
our ongoing online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/784506550
More anti-blood sports petitions can be found by clicking on Petitions
at www.banbloodsports.com
_______________________________________
13. New Campaign Poster: "No Hunters, No Hounds"
_______________________________________
ICABS is urging landowners to show compassion for our wildlife heritage
by closing property to those involved in blood sports. If you are a farmer
or countryside landowner, please download our new "No Hunters, No
Hounds" poster. Laminate and display copies along your property boundaries.
Thank you.
No Hunters, No Hounds - Download Now http://www.banbloodsports.com/pdfs/No_Hunters_No_Hounds.pdf
(A4 pdf, 67Kb)
More "No Hunting" Signs
To see our full selection of "No Hunting" signs, please click
on Farmers at www.banbloodsports.com and scroll down to the Signs link.
_______________________________________
14. Irish MEP is "odd man out" in support for cruel seal
hunt
_______________________________________
Irish MEP, Sean O Neachtain, has been described as "very much the
odd man out" for backing Canada's barbaric seal hunters. The Fianna
Fail MEP
sparked outrage this month after he declared: "I will be supporting
the seal hunters". Mr O Neachtain's bizarre stance has been condemned
by
animal welfare groups across Ireland.
In a letter to the politician today, ICABS criticised his lack of compassion
and described his statement as an embarrassment to the people
of Ireland.
Canada's Telegram newspaper has branded Mr O Neachtain as "very much
the odd man out in the European Parliament - perhaps the lone EU
parliamentarian leading the fight against a ban on imported Canadian seal
products".
Highlighting a video of Mr O Neachtain coming out in favour of the merciless
hunters, the paper stated: "Sean O Neachtain, who represents a rural
area in western Ireland, is defending Canada's seal hunt, despite the
fact that the majority of his 784 parliamentary colleagues are calling
for the hunt to be banned."
ACTION ALERT 1
Please contact Sean O Neachtain MEP and express your disapproval of his
support for Canada's barbaric hunters who club, shoot and hook seals to
death in what has been described as the largest slaughter of marine mammals
in the world.
Sean O Neachtain MEP
42 Prospect Hill,
Galway, Ireland
Email: info@oneachtain.com
Email: seanoneachtain@eircom.net
Tel: 091 560 020. Fax: 091 560 023
OR
Sean O Neachtain MEP
Rue Wiertz. Brussels 1047
Email: soneachtain@europarl.eu.int
Tel: 00 322 284 5611. Fax: 00 322 284 9611
ACTION ALERT 2
Please write to the rest of Ireland's MEPs and ask them to support an
EU ban on the importation of Canadian seal products
You can find a list of Irish MEPs by clicking on this link: www.europarl.ie/irish.html
Seal Slaughter: More information and Petition
To learn more about the brutality of Canada's seal slaughter, visit the
"Stop The Seal Hunt" website at www.stopthesealhunt.com.
Click on the link to sign a Humane Society of the United States petition
-
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/566342047?ltl=1141555333
Video: Cruel Seal hunting exposed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAw6TZF5a1o
_______________________________________
15. Coursing cruelty captured by media
_______________________________________
The cruelty of coursing has once again been captured by the Irish media.
Photos of hares running for their lives in front of greyhounds were
published in several papers, giving readers a reminder of the suffering
endured by this timid and fragile species.
To view some of the latest photos, please click on Latest News at www.banbloodsports.com
and scroll down to our 08 February 2008 entry.
ACTION ALERT
Please help hares by responding to our "Ban Coursing Action Alerts"
[27] below and forwarding them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
16. Documentary about hunter turned campaigner
_______________________________________
A new documentary from Griffith College profiles Tom Hardiman, a former
foxhunter who turned his back on the cruelty and went on to become one
of Ireland's most dedicated anti-hunt campaigners. This short film tells
of how Tom protests outside the Dail every week to urge politicians to
ban the blood sport.
Directed by Ana Maqueda-Lopez, "Calling the Hounds" is a motivating
presentation about a man haunted by what he witnessed at hunts but
determined to see the cruelty outlawed.
Watch "Calling the Hounds" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqWzwlH0sE
(Duration: 03:44 minutes)
Interviewed during the film, Tom recalls the moment he knew he had to
give up hunting.
"I decided to stop hunting in 1999," he says. "I was at
a hunt down in Knockbrack, the far side of Athenry - they were hunting
in a Coillte forestry. They hunted a fox to ground. I was watching. They
dug the clay away from over the fox and let the hounds in on top of him.
They pulled him up and tore him to pieces. I was really disgusted when
i saw it."
But how did a man of compassion end up involved in hunting?
Tom explains it as follows: "We used to live across from where the
hunt is situated. I had a liking for horses and it goes on from there.
You get in to the hunt and you don't really see the cruel side of it.
You are all excited when you're going through the countryside and you're
jumping walls and you think this is great. You're not thinking of the
cruelty that's taking place."
Now with over 117 Dail protests completed, Tom is as committed as ever
to seeing a ban on the barbarity.
"I'm going to keep protesting until they change the law," he
states in the documentary. "I'm not going to give up. No way."
_______________________________________
17. Bovine TB rises despite badger massacre
_______________________________________
Bovine TB has increased by 13 per cent in just one year in the Republic
of Ireland, despite the most sustained programme of badger extermination
ever undertaken in Western Europe, the Badger Trust has revealed.
The UK-based group say they have learned that Agriculture Minister Mary
Coughlan has told the Irish Farmers Association that the increase is
"significant" and "unexplained".
Badger Trust spokesperson, Trevor Lawson, commented: "This increase
in TB in Ireland cannot be blamed on badgers. The Irish Government is
setting 6,000 snares for badgers every night, but barely catching 6,000
badgers a year because they are now so scarce. By strangling badgers,
the Irish Government was supposed to be eradicating bovine TB, yet the
disease has been static for years and is now on the rise. Badgers are
a
scapegoat for reckless farming practices which encourage the spread of
TB between herds."
The group has pointed out that in Northern Ireland (where no badgers are
culled) herd incidence of TB fell from 6.23% in 2006 to 5.23% in 2007,
the fifth consecutive annual decrease. The Department for Agriculture
there focuses on tracking cattle movements and breaches of TB testing
procedures.
"Mary Coughlan will have a hard time explaining the rise in bovine
TB now that she has succeeded in virtually exterminating badgers across
their most important habitats in the Republic of Ireland," Mr Lawson
commented. "The comparison between polices in Northern Ireland and
the
Republic underlines that the bovine TB problem is a cattle problem. Killing
badgers is a grotesque and senseless exercise."
URGENT ACTION ALERTS
Please appeal to Minister Mary Coughlan to show compassion and suspend
the cruel badger snaring operation. Remind her that the badger is a
protected species in Ireland and that the Protection of Animals Act, for
which she is responsible, makes it an offence to cause unnecessary
suffering to an animal. Tell her 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."
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510. Fax: 01-661 1013.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
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
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Jamie Mulleady
National Parks and Wildlife Service
7 Ely Place, Dublin 2
Email: jamie_mulleady@environ.ie
_______________________________________
18. Protest coverage on RTE News
_______________________________________
Television coverage of the Clonmel protest against live hare coursing
can be viewed from the RTE website. Click on the following link to view
the Six One news report - www.rte.ie/news/2008/0206/coursing.html
ACTION ALERT
Please respond to our "Ban Coursing Action Alerts" [27] below
and forward them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
19. Fantastic Fox Photos
_______________________________________
Check out the ICABS website to see a set of fantastic fox photos taken
recently by ICABS supporter, Clodagh Blake. (Click on Latest News and
scroll down to our 27 February entry)
According to Clodagh, the adorable fox is a regular visitor to the garden
in County Tipperary where he is welcomed with a generous supply of food.
Thanks to Clodagh for sharing the photos. If you have similar wildlife
photos, please send them to us at info@banbloodsports.com.
ACTION ALERT
Please help foxes by responding to our "Ban Foxhunting Action Alerts"
[26] below and forwarding them to all your friends.
_______________________________________
20. Tesco criticised for greyhound racing promo
_______________________________________
Greyhound Action Ireland has called on Tesco to stop promoting greyhound
racing in its current Clubcard Deals literature.
The supermarket chain is inviting customers to exchange their clubcard
vouchers for entry discounts into greyhound stadiums.
Pointing to the "thousands of dogs who are drugged, injured, mutilated
and killed by the industry worldwide, especially Ireland and the UK",
Greyhound Action has condemned the promotion.
According to the ISPCA, "approximately 14,000 greyhounds are "disposed
of" in Ireland each year.
"They are destroyed because they haven't made the grade as racing
dogs or when they are past their best for racing (usually by the age of
four)," they outline on their website. "Other unwanted dogs
are sold to Spain, where they are forced to race in appalling conditions,
with no
veterinary care and no prospect of an end to their suffering until they
are too badly injured to continue."
If you would like to register a complaint with Tesco, the contact details
are:
Tony Keohane
Chief Executive
Tesco Ireland Limited
Gresham House, Marine Road,
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin
Email: tony.keohane@tesco.ie or
Email: customer.services@tesco.ie
Telephone 1850 744 844 or 00 44 800 0059 1688
_______________________________________
21. Birwatchers flocking to online cinema
_______________________________________
An exciting website dedicated to gathering video of every bird species
on the planet has attracted over a million visitors since its launch last
July. Bird Cinema is a free resource for anyone with an interest in our
feathered friends and its amateur and professional presentations will
keep you enthralled for hours. To watch some birds in action, or to upload
your own bird footage, visit Bird Cinema at www.birdcinema.com
Some of our favourite offerings on Bird Cinema include:
The clever crow that uses cars as a nutcracker
http://birdcinema.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d9846c5e994be2a91baf
The shoplifting Scottish seagull
http://birdcinema.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b205199de8729a6637b4
The magpie trying to eat an awkward pine cone
http://birdcinema.com/view_video.php?viewkey=0780a2142a6eb7bc4f3c
A daring bluejay playing with a cat's tail
http://birdcinema.com/view_video.php?viewkey=bdf6eab6050c2a564435
_______________________________________
22. Campaign Quotes
_______________________________________
"A High Court judge granted an injunction to the [Ward Union] removing
the conditions on its licence pending a full hearing of a separate judicial
review hearing. The High Court decision allowed 42 riders to head out
yesterday, Ward Union hunt secretary Declan Brooks confirmed,
while a further 100 or so people watched." (Irish Independent, 23rd
February 2008)
"I hate hunting. I had a rescue fox cub as a kid; the local hunt
had killed its mother. But we got the cub from them, his name was Sparky.
He only lived a short while as the hunters had injured him so much."
(comment left on the ICABS Bebo page at www.bebo.com/banbloodsports -
10th February 2008)
"A new documentary from Griffith College will profile a former foxhunter
from Galway who has turned his back on fox-hunting, going on to become
one of Ireland's most dedicated anti-hunt campaigners. 'I decided to stop
hunting in 1999. I was at a hunt down in Knockbrack, the far side of Athenry
- they were hunting in a Coillte forestry. They hunted a fox to ground.
I was watching. They dug the clay away from over the fox and let the hounds
in on top of him. They pulled him up and tore him to pieces. I was really
disgusted when I saw it,' said Tom. " (Galway man the focus of anti-hunt
documentary, Galway Independent - 13 February 2008)
"I would personally be very anti-bloodsports and behind those lobby
groups. I don't really see the need for it. [Coursing] is an example of
animal cruelty and it does need to be stopped...I have met with John Gormley
and we talked about what he intended to do. He has issued licenses but
with restrictions and he has also refused to grant licenses in situation
where he felt that people weren't complying with guidelines. Mostly, I
think he is building up information for next year. The Green Party would
be anti-bloodsports and I think he is doing all he can at the moment.
It is very likely that there will be a much bigger clampdown next year
and that would be what I hope will happen." (Green Party councillor
Niall O'Brolchain, Galway independent, - 12 September 2007)
"This government is allocating 76 euro million to the Horse and Greyhound
Racing Fund while giving less than that, 64 million euro, to the Drugs
Initiatives and Young People's Facilities Fund. This is unacceptable.
If the government were to re-allocate tax payers money out of the Horse
and Greyhound Racing Fund then resources for the Drugs Initiatives and
Young People's Facilities Fund under Budget 2008 could be more than doubled."
(Donegal Sinn Fein Senator Pearse Doherty in a Donegal News report highlighting
how the county's drugs squad has been left with just one part-time officer
- February 1st, 2008)
"Hounds picked up another hare and hunted hard as she ran close to
the ditches across from Ringlestown House. They crossed the land and pushed
her on through the wood bordering the Skane River...it was hard for hounds
to stay on the hunted hare as immediately after they entered the
wood at least four resident hares ran in different directions." (from
a report on the Tara Harriers, the Irish Field - January 5th, 2008)
"We were digging out the fox with the farmer's permission and hounds
that were too close to the foxhole broke loose and got hold of the animal."
(Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association spokesperson, Brian Munn, recounts
how a fox was killed by hounds after being dug out of the ground during
a Westmeath Foxhounds hunt last November - Westmeath Examiner, 23rd February
2008. Note: Digging out is one of several appalling acts of animal cruelty
that take place during foxhunts.)
"The Westmeath Hunt has come under fire for a second time this year
with allegations afoot that a fox 'was forced to swim twice across the
Royal Canal in a desperate bid to save its skin' in a hunt at the start
of February. The allegations appeared in a letter to the Westmeath Examiner
in which Philip Kiernan from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports also
appealed for Westmeath farmers to put up No Hunting signs on their land
and place newspaper notices to that effect." (Westmeath Examiner
- 23rd February 2008)
"Although hare coursing is an embarrassment to the two thirds of
our population who want it outlawed, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports
welcomes the San Francisco Chronicle's publicisation of this shameful
activity. The photograph of the hare being knocked off its feet by a
greyhound [in Clonmel] will leave readers in no doubt about the suffering
endured by these most fragile of creatures. The Chronicle's suggestion
that 'muzzles take the carnage out of coursing' is the message coursers
are desperate to convey but it's a far cry from the truth." (Philip
Kiernan, Irish Council Against Blood Sports, San Francisco Chronicle website
comment - February 7th, 2008)
_______________________________________
23. Letters to the Editors
______________________________________
Hunters not the farmer's friends by Nuala Donlon, Lanesborough, Co Longford
Irish Times, February 5, 2008
Madam - As someone born, reared and still resident in rural Ireland, I
am getting increasingly tired of the pro-foxhunting lobby's attempts to
paint themselves as the guardians of the rural way of life and the armer's
best friend (Philip Donnelly, "Fair play for fox-hunting", February
1st).
I come from a part of rural Ireland where we have always, thankfully,
been spared the presence of a foxhunt and I'm glad to report that the
area has not been over-run by foxes. Nor is predation of farm animals
by foxes a problem of any significance; by far the majority of farm animal
mortality relates to issues of sub-standard husbandry, as is the case
throughout Ireland, and this fact is well-documented by the Department
of Agriculture.
Painting those opposed to foxhunting and other blood sports as a small
band of sinister extremists is the latest ploy by an increasingly desperate
hunting lobby to shift attention away from the growing opposition among
farmers to fox-hunting. And who could blame farmers for not wanting dozens
of horses and dogs traipsing, uninvited, across their land, breaking down
fences, worrying their animals, spreading disease and in some cases killing
their family pets?
Indeed, it was from just such farmers that the hunting lobby ran scared
recently when they refused to go on the Late Late Show and discuss these
issues with representatives of the group Farmers Against Foxhunting and
respass.
I'm getting tired, too, of hearing that since lots of other animals are
treated badly in the name of sport, entertainment and fashion, fox-hunting
should be allowed to continue unchallenged. How utterly threadbare philosophically
is the argument put forward by Mr Donnelly and his fellow hunting enthusiasts
that we shouldn't ban blood sports because we might then have to examine
the many other cruelties we visit on animals?
If this logic had informed the debate on the criminalisation of badger-baiting,
dog-fighting and cock-fighting, these equally vile blood sports would
still be perfectly legal. It doesn't require a great deal of intelligence
to figure out that the reason the latter are already illegal, while fox-hunting
isn't, has everything to do with the socio-economic background and political
influence of those involved and nothing to do with logic and compassion.
The recent licensing decision by Minister John Gormley in relation to
the Ward Union Stag Hunt heralds a major shift on the issue of blood sports
on the part of the political establishment in this State. With the vast
majority of Irish people consistently expressing their opposition to blood
sports, it is long overdue. - Yours, etc,
Greens must pursue ban on hare-coursing
by John Fitzgerald, Campaign for the abolition of cruel sports, Co.Kilkenny
Western People - February 06, 2008
SIR - This week's National Coursing Event is a testament to the survival,
not just of deliberate state sponsored cruelty to animals in Ireland,
but to the continued prevalence of the cute hoor "nod and wink"
political culture.
Every professional opinion poll conducted since 1978 has pointed to big
majorities in favour of a ban on hare coursing. Britain and most of Europe
have criminalised it.
Yet we still play host to one of the world's most barbaric blood sports
... All because politicians are afraid of upsetting handfuls of voters
in key Dail constituencies. The PR system encourages, however unwittingly,
this kind of cowardly and unprincipled calculation.
So hare coursing continues, and the majority view has counted for nothing.
Our legal system enshrines a practise that involves snatching hares from
their natural homes in the countryside, herding these animals (that lack
the herd instinct) into man-made compounds, and then setting them up as
live bait for dogs to chase and terrorise.
The claim that muzzling ended the cruelty has been given the lie bystate-employed
and appointed wildlife rangers whose reports, obtained by us under FOI,
reveal a catalogue of abuse and suffering, inflicted at all coursing events
held since the introduction of muzzling.
The level of abuse varies from one baiting session to another, but the
bottom line is that you cannot have a fair and humane sport where an animal
is being baited for fun and thrills in a confined area.
Apologists for hare coursing say: "It's traditional". It certainly
is, in one sense: It was one of the spectacles performed in the ancient
Coliseum for the edification of blood-lusting Romans and their mad emperor,
Nero.
Unfortunately, Nero wasn't the first or the last politician to equate
sickening cruelty to animals with sport.
Quite a few Fianna Fail deputies and a lesser number of Fine Gael ones
seem to enjoy the pitiful sight of a little hare twisting, turning, and
dodging on a coursing track in a desperate bid to avoid being mauled or
injured by the larger, faster and stronger greyhounds.
And many of the politicians who don't enjoy or condone it haven't got
the guts to oppose it.
Hopefully, the Greens, who are now in government and committed as a matter
of party policy to banning blood sports, will take note of this week's
festival of barbarism, honour their democratic mandate, and move quickly
to seek the abolition of hare coursing.
Badgers controversy
by Bernadette Barrett (BadgerWatch Ireland)
Limerick Leader, January 2008
Sir, Michael McElligot's letter published in Leader of January 12 relating
to cattle TB in this country and the alleged role of the badger merits
a response. His suggestion that a small number of the animals be humanely
culled and tested at Government laboratories suggests that he is out of
touch with the reality of the situation.
We have been slaughtering badgers for 'scientific research' for almost
two decades. Since the East Offaly study, 55,800 badgers have made the
journey to the six regional labs for autopsy. First, they required capturing
in the most inhumane way, by means of the barbaric multi-strand wire snare
which is our Government's chosen method. They are snared overnight, left
struggling for freedom and shot sometime the following day. To add to
this, the number of badgers killed illegally on Irish farms can only be
guessed at.
In 2004, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) issued the Agric
Department (DAF) with a licence to cull up to 30% of our indigenous badger
population (60,000) over a four year period. Our present Minister, Mary
Coughlan has recently stated that the killing will be extended beyond
this agreement until the long awaited vaccine comes on board.
The Minister also revealed that no less than 6,000 badger snares are
set ightly across Irish farmland. In spite of this, a mere 5,580 were
captured in 2006 (last figures available). In theory it would have been
possible to capture this number in one night alone. The sheer irony
is that we no longer have enough badgers to fill the snares!
If killing badgers was the solution, Ireland should be TB-free long
ago. According to available figures, we removed 25, 291 reactors in
2007, an increase on the 22,071 taken out in 2006. The figure of 3%
infection rate in our national herd of 6.5 million is still with us
- forty two years after Charles J. Haughey declared the country TB-Free.
Bovine TB is a cattle disease. The skin test for TB in cattle is not 100%
accurate and it is not diagnostic. Healthy animals sometimes fail it but
more alarming still is that occasionally an infected animal can slip through.
It only takes one missed animal to start the ball rolling again. These
animals are like time bombs in a herd. It is very likely that badgers
originally picked up the disease from cattle through their dietary habits
of foraging under infected cow pats. How and if they transmit it back
to cattle is pure conjecture. The route of transmission has never been
positively identified.
_______________________________________
24. Coursing's Catalogue of Cruelty
_______________________________________
HARE COURSING CRUELTY (2006/07 SEASON)
Source: National Parks & Wildlife Service (Obtained under Freedom
of Information)
Tradaree, Co. Clare (13/14 January 2007)
Ranger stated that five hares were mauled on day 1, with one dying instantly.
The following morning, it was discovered that four hares had died overnight
and two were injured. One was put down and the other released after veterinary
attention. During the second day's coursing, three hares were mauled,
with one dying instantly and two more put down later after being found
with serious injuries, while another hare was found dead after the coursing
meeting, which brings the hare death toll at this meeting to 10.
Westmeath United (14/15 October 2006)
Ranger reported "three hares that were badly mauled were placed in
a box by the field steward." When the coursing was over, she "watched
as the steward carried the box towards the escape." She was "concerned
that these hares were about to be let back to the enclosure without examination
by a vet. Due to the severity of the mauling," she said, it was "likely
that these hares would have had internal injuries," in her opinion.
On day 2 of the meeting the conservation ranger noted that four hares
were hit, two of which were caught by dogs through their muzzles. She
stated that one hare, which was tossed and badly mauled, having been caught
through the muzzles by the dogs, "squealed with distress and/or pain
and was taken up by the steward and carried to the escape and released
back into the enclosure without examination by a vet on the day."
Tubbercurry & District (28/29/30 October, 2006)
There were 7 hares hit and mauled on day 1, two of which were killed;
on day 2, 5 hares were hit and mauled, while 9 hares were hit on day 3,
with 1 hare having to be put down because of its injuries.
Roscommon (26/27 December 2006)
Ranger stated that 13 hares were struck, with 1 put down because of injuries.
Ranger also stated that when he was supervising release of hares following
coursing meeting in Roscommon, "one hare was unable to escape due
to serious injuries. The hare had a badly broken hind leg and seemed to
be in great distress." The ranger destroyed the hare humanely.
East Donegal (30/31 December 2006)
There were 5 hares struck by dogs, 3 of which died due to their injuries.
South Clare (26/27 December, 2006)
Six hares were hit over the two days of coursing, with 1 killed outright,
and 3 dying afterwards from their injuries, according to NPWS report.
Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry (14/15 October, 2006)
There were 5 hares hit over the two days, with 2 being put down and 2
dying of "natural causes", according to the conservation ranger.
Castleisland (29/30 October, 2006)
There were 4 hares struck by greyhounds, 1 killed and 1 put down as a
result of its injuries, while 1 died of "natural causes".
Lixnaw, Co. Kerry (4/5 November, 2006)
The conservation ranger did not attend the first day of coursing. He noted
3 hares struck by greyhounds on second day of coursing, with 2 having
to be put down because of injuries.
Listowel, Co. Kerry (11/12 November, 2006)
The conservation ranger stated that 2 hares were struck and one died of
"natural causes".
Ballyduff, Co. Kerry (18/19 November, 2006)
4 hares were hit over the two days, with one having to be put down due
to injuries. The ranger commented on the "very bad weather and heavy
rain".
Kilflynn, Co. Kerry (2/3 December, 2006)
There were 3 hares hit by greyhounds, with one dying of "natural
causes". Ranger stated that due to the very heavy rain over the previous
week, parts of the field were "heavy going".
Castletown-Geoghegan, Co. Westmeath (16 December, 2006)
Ranger stated that 4 hares were struck by greyhounds, with three being
injured.
Dundalk & Dowdallshill (26/27 December, 2006)
NPWS conservation ranger attended event for one day only and reported
4 hares killed, and a further 3 injured hares were sent to a vet for assessment.
Trim, Co. Meath (4/5 November, 2006)
According to conservation ranger's report, 10 hares were hit by dogs over
the two days of coursing, 5 injured, one of which died due to injuries.
4 hares were unaccounted for.
Killimer-Kilrush, Co. Clare (25/26 November, 2006)
Nine hares were hit by dogs over two days of coursing, with one hare being
killed and one hare dying "after running up the field uncoursed",
according to NPWS report.
Milltown-Malbay, Co. Clare (28/29 October, 2006)
Ten hares were hit over the two days of coursing.
Rathkeale (25/26 November, 2006)
2 hares killed, according to ranger's report.
Dungarvan (16/17 Nov. 2006)
The ranger noted two hares carrying injuries: "one hare was carrying
a hind leg and one had a damaged hind toe."
Liscannor, Co. Clare (30 October, 1 November 2006).
Five hares were hit and 1 put down because of its injuries, and also another
put down, "which appeared dull", according to Ranger.
Cappoquin (11/12 Nov. 2006)
Three hares were struck by dogs.
Balbriggan (25/26 November 2006)
Three hares died from injuries received following being struck by muzzled
dogs.
Abbeyfeale (28/29 December 2006)
Five hares were struck, according to Ranger's report.
Clonmel (5/6/7 February 2007)
4 hares were struck, according to Ranger's report.
_______________________________________
25. Police will punish acts of cruelty: Brazilian official
_______________________________________
An official from the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina has told ICABS
that the military police will "punish any acts of aggression against
defenceless animals". The promise was in response to an email in
which we joined calls on the local authorities to enforce a law which
bans the abuse of oxen.
A local festival known as the "Farra do Boi" takes place every
year and is thought to be responsible for some of the country's worst
instances of animal abuse. According to the International Organisation
for Animal Protection, the oxen victims are starved for several days before
the beginning of the festival.
"To increase the frenzy, food and water are placed within their sight
but out of their reach," they outline on their website. "The
Farra begins when the first ox is driven from his pen and chased through
the streets by crowds of villagers with sticks, knives, whips, stones,
bamboo lances, and ropes. The attackers - men, women, and children - pursue
the ox as he desperately attempts to escape. Sometimes the helpless animals
are doused with gasoline and set on fire. Pepper is thrown into their
eyes, which are often gouged out. Participants break the animals' horns
and legs and cut off their tails."
The festivals were banned by Brazil's Supreme Court in 1997 but continue
in some areas.
ICABS welcomes the response from Catarina state that these appalling acts
will not be tolerated.
To show your support for a final end to this cruelty festival, email "Please
stop the farra do boi" to sdrgdefpolis@soo.sdr.sc.gov.br
_______________________________________
26. Action Alerts: Ban Foxhunting
_______________________________________
ACTION ALERT 1
Please make a special appeal to Trevor Sargent TD, Minister of State at
the Department of Agriculture where new animal welfare legislation is
currently being drafted. ICABS welcomed a statement from Minister Sargent
last year in which he assured us that the new legislation will "ensure
that the welfare of animals is properly protected". Please appeal
to him to prioritise fox protection in the new act.
Trevor Sargent TD
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: tsargent@greenparty.ie
Tel: 01-6183465 (Dail). Fax: 01-8900361.
Dear Minister Sargent,
As one of the two thirds majority of Irish people who want foxhunting
banned, I appeal to you to please ensure that foxes are afforded full
protection from hunting groups in the new animal welfare legislation being
drafted. Please do everything in your power to finally bring foxhunting
to an end and protect foxes from this horrendous abuse.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 2
Urge the Minister for Agriculture to protect foxes and all wild creatures
from unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510. Fax: 01-661 1013.
Dear Minister Coughlan,
I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to save foxes
from the cruelty of foxhunting. Foxhunting is an abhorrent assault on
our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Please ensure
that Ireland's new animal welfare legislation includes protection for
foxes.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 3
Please urgently appeal to your local politicians
Please join us in telling all of Ireland's TDs that it is now time to
replace foxhunting with the humane alternative - drag hunting. Drag hunting
sees the hounds chasing an artificial lure instead of a live animal. 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.
Please stand up for the foxes so cruelly abused by hunting groups - write
to all of your local politicians and ask them to act to secure a ban on
foxhunting. If possible, get your friends, family and workmates to contact
them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible.
Write to your TD at:
Dail Eireann, 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 the Irish
Government Website.
ACTION ALERT 4
Contact Ireland's forestry board, 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 foxhunts
to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the appalling
cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish people want
it 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]
_______________________________________
27. Action Alerts: Ban Coursing
_______________________________________
ACTION ALERT 1
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to
give a commitment that this will be the last ever hare coursing season
in Ireland.
Sample Letter
(Please compose your own personal letter if possible. If you do not have
time to do this, please send the short sample letter below. Be assertive,
but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
I am writing to implore you to firmly reject future licence applications
from the Irish Coursing Club. Hare coursing is one of Ireland's most appalling
forms of animal abuse with thousands of hares being ripped from their
natural habitat and forced to run for their lives before muzzled dogs.
When hit, the injuries are often so severe that the terrified hares have
to be destroyed - but only after suffering from stress, internal injuries
such as broken bones.
In its pre-election manifesto, the Green Party pledged to ban blood sports
when in government. I am among the confident majority who trust that you
will take this historic opportunity, Minister, to spare the hares the
suffering caused by coursing and refuse further licences to these heartless
destroyers of our wildlife heritage.
Thank you and best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Name/Location
ACTION ALERT 2
Please contact your local TD and Senator and ask them to make an appeal
to Minister Gormley on your behalf.
For the names of your TDs, please click on your county at
http://www.oireachtas.ie/members%2Dhist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=30&disp=const
Contact your TD at:
Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337889 (1890 DEPUTY)
For a list of Senators, please visit
http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=23&disp=mem
Contact your Senator at:
Seanad Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 732 623 (1890 SEANAD)
______________________________________
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
______________________________________
Become a supporter of ICABS
______________________________________
Please become a supporter of ICABS. 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. If you are unable
to print the sub form, simply write your name, address, telephone, email
address on a piece of paper and send it to us with payment. Thank you.
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 "Donate" button. Thank you. Your support will allow us
to continue campaigning against blood sport cruelty in Ireland.
****************************************************
http://action.defenders.org/ourwolves
By removing wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana from the list of federally protected endangered species last week, the Bush/Cheney Administration has officially green-lighted state plans to kill as many as 70% of the wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
The announcement opened the door to the elimination of more than a 1,000 wolves by aerial gunning, trapping, poisoning and other lethal methods. It could also close the door on wolf restoration in Oregon, Washington, Colorado and other parts of the gray wolf’s historic range.
And with southwest
wolf recovery continuing to falter, it’s time for a national plan
to ensure a lasting future for our wolves. Fortunately, folks like you
and me can make a huge difference for America’s wolves. Here’s
how:
Just go online to http://action.defenders.org/ourwolves
and urge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to adopt a
national wolf recovery plan.
Overwhelming Support
for Wolves
Thousands of Defenders supporters have flooded the Fish and Wildlife Service
with calls opposing the elimination of vital federal protections for wolves
in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
In the days and weeks ahead, there will be more ways to help. But, for
now, please take a moment to learn more about the wolves we’re fighting
to protect: Learn more about our ongoing work to protect wolves in Greater
Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
Get the facts on gray wolves.
At noon Eastern Time yesterday, the Bush/Cheney Administration -- as feared --launched the latest salvo in its war against wolves, eliminating Endangered Species Act protections for hundreds of wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
By that time, thousands of caring Defenders supporters and activists like you were already hard at work.
By our estimates, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received 5,000-20,000 phone calls expressing outrage over the decision to allow states to kill as many as 70%[1] of the wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
Below is a typical report we received on Wednesday’s massive call-in campaign:
"After a long wait on hold I spoke to a young woman who said, in answer to my question, that the switchboard at FWS was awash with calls regarding the proposed delisting of wolves. I said I was glad to hear that and left my message opposing delisting"
I wish federal officials could hear from each and every one of the thousands and thousands who tried to call and tell them how much you care about these wolves.
But I want you to know that we are committed to making sure that your voices are heard on this important issue. And, together, we will win this fight.
Now, thanks to your contribution we have an even better chance at winning this fight and saving wolves.
In less than 24 hours, nearly 2,700 wildlife lovers like you helped us smash through our $125,000 fundraising goal --- providing essential near-term financial support to help us challenge wolf de-listing in court, mobilize opposition to states’ plans to kill up to 1,050 [2] of these amazing animals, fight misinformation about wolves through public education efforts and much, much more.
This week, Defenders supporters like you have shown real commitment to protecting wolves and other wildlife. I know that your efforts are going to make a huge difference in this campaign, so please watch your email in the days and weeks ahead for more ways to help.
With deep gratitude,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife
****************************************************
Join ARAN's Fifth Annual 'Stop Canada Killing Seals' Rally
Dear
ARAN Members,
It's such a pity I am not writing to you to say that Canada's cruel commercial
seal hunt has ended. I feel that 2008 may actually be the final year this
heartbreaking slaughter takes place. Markets for Canadian seal 'products'
are closing down around the world and within weeks the European Union
will decide a ban on all seal 'products' into Europe. This trade ban may
be the only hope the seals have, as the Canadian government is no longer
listening to international concern, they refuse to enter into dialogue
with animal protection groups and are now gone so desperate, they've begun
lobbying EU officials not to place a trade ban here in Europe. I cannot
stress the urgency of my email to you today. Our only hope at this stage
is
to get an EU wide trade ban and continue to promote the Canadian 'seafood'
boycott. The Canadian government has stated they will only end the seal
hunt if the fishing industry in Canada ask for it, so financial pressure
maybe the only reason they'll end the hunt.
I am writing for your help once again. Can you please take time out to
attend our special rally we are holding to raise awareness here in Ireland
of Canada's cruel commercial seal hunt? Will you please stand with us
and say 'Not in my name'? At ARAN, we only organize peaceful, professional
and well organized events. At this years protest, we'll have professionally
printed placards and a huge vinyl banner with the words 'Canada, Stop
Killing Seals' written on it, along with a picture of a Canadian seal
that is sure to catch passing motorists attention and of course the media,
helping to direct the attention of countless people to the plight of Canadian
seals. Please click here
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5EQH-BFD2Y&feature=related>
to see footage of the campaign so far.
When ARAN organizes these high profile events, you can be sure of it that
we desperately need all the help and attendance we can get, which is why
I hope you can attend our most important anti-seal slaughter protest we
have ever organized. Please note all the important details for the event
below.
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Time: 12noon (Please try and arrive shortly before 12noon for a press
photocall)
Place: Canadian embassy, 7-8 Wilton Terrace, Corner of Baggot Street Lower
(Please take note that this is the Canadian Embassy's new address. The
building is on the Grand Canal, opposite the Mespil Hotel)
Thank you very much for doing all you do to help animals. I certainly
do hope that 2008 is the final year this horrendous seal slaughter goes
ahead
and I hope that we both can look back and say that we were part of that
change!
Kind Regards,
John Carmody
Ps, a mother seal can identify her baby from among the thousands of seals
by smell alone, she can recognize her pup's dead body too. Please help
ARAN speak out against this appalling cruelty, take part in our peaceful
protest to save their lives. Please let me know if you are attending this
event.
John Carmody | Campaigns Coordinator | Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
120 Vale Avenue | Carew Park | Limerick | Ireland
Tel: 087-6275579 | Intl' +353-87-6275579 | Email: arancampaigns@eircom.net
Website: www.ARAN.ie
"Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland"
Need reminding why cruelty to animals is wrong? Check out Earthlings,
the award winning video narrated by Hollywood Actor Joaquin Phoenix.
http://veg-tv.info/Earthlings
Donate to ARAN, make checks or postal orders payable to Animal Rights
Action Network and mail to the address above, thank you.
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to
succeed is always to try just one more time."
Thomas Edison
1847-1931, Inventor and Entrepreneur
One of the best ways you can help ARAN is to get actively involved with
our ongoing research, lobbying, events, projects, peaceful protests and
tabling events across Ireland. Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) is
against all forms of animal cruelty and is a grassroots group working
to speak out for the rights of all animals here in Ireland, whilst helping
to promote and support European and international campaigns to end cruelty
to animals.
ARAN works with volunteers, activists, members of the public and other
animal protection groups. We firmly believe that by working together we
can do so much more and be far more effective. Please be sure to check
out ARAN.ie on a frequent basis to keep up to date with ARAN's latest
lifesaving
campaigns work. Together we can make a huge difference and we need you
on our side.
****************************************************
Galway fox chased for 80 minutes
Dear
Friends in County Galway,
We wish to bring to your attention the article below from our website
which details how a fox was chased for one hour and twenty minutes during
a hunt in Galway. We would be grateful if you could respond to the action
alerts and forward them to your friends/supporters.
Thanks very much.
With best wishes.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Kiernan
Irish Council Against Blood Sports
PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland
Email: info@banbloodsports.com
Website: www.banbloodsports.com
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
-----------------------------------------------------------
Galway fox chased
for 80 minutes
26 February 2008
A fox had to endure a gruelling 80 minute chase during a hunt in County Galway, according to an Irish Field report (Jan 5th 2008). "As soon as [the huntsman] cast his pack in Pump Bog, they found a fox and were away for what was to be a run of one hour and twenty minutes," the report stated, adding that the hunt terrier was among the dogs chasing the unfortunate fox.
The report on the Grallagh Harriers suggests that this particular fox managed to get away but it's more than likely that the creature was in a poor state afterwards. Research has shown that foxes chased by hounds suffer internal injuries, leaving them at risk of dying even if they eventually escape. (See below for more information on "The physio fate of hunted foxes").
Please urgently appeal to Agriculture Minister, Mary Coughlan, and Minister of State, Trevor Sargent, to ensure that foxes are protected under new animal welfare legislation.
A fox running for
its life
A fox runs for its life during a foxhunt in County Galway. The terrified
creature can be seen panting heavily with its tongue hanging out of its
mouth. Note: This is not the fox referred to in the article above. Photo:
banfoxandstaghuntingcrueltyireland.com
ACTION ALERT 1
Please make a special appeal to Trevor Sargent TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture where new animal welfare legislation is currently being drafted. ICABS welcomed a statement from Minister Sargent last year in which he assured us that the new legislation will "ensure that the welfare of animals is properly protected". Please appeal to him to prioritise fox protection in the new act.
Trevor Sargent TD
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture
Email: tsargent@greenparty.ie
Tel: 01-6183465 (Dail)
Fax: 01-8900361
Dear Minister Sargent,
As one of the two thirds majority of Irish people who want foxhunting banned, I appeal to you to please ensure that foxes are afforded full protection from hunting groups in the new animal welfare legislation being drafted. Please do everything in your power to finally bring foxhunting to an end and protect foxes from this horrendous abuse.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 2
Urge the Minister for Agriculture to protect foxes and all wild creatures from unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01-661 1013.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Dear Minister Coughlan,
I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to save foxes from the barbarism of foxhunting. This blood sport is an abhorrent assault on our wildlife heritage and a complete ban is long overdue. Please ensure that Ireland's new animal welfare legislation includes protection for foxes.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
ACTION ALERT 3
Please urgently appeal to your local politicians
Please join us in telling all of Ireland's TDs that it is now time to replace foxhunting with the humane alternative - drag hunting.
Drag hunting sees the hounds chasing an artificial lure instead of a live animal. 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.
Please stand up for the foxes so cruelly abused by hunting groups - write to all of your local politicians and ask them to act to secure a ban on foxhunting. If possible, get your friends, family and workmates to contact them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible.
Write to your TD at:
Dail Eireann, 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 the Irish Government Website - http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist.
ACTION ALERT 4
Contact Ireland's forestry board, 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 foxhunts to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the appalling cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish people want it 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]
The physio fate of hunted foxes
What happens to foxes as they are chased by a pack of hounds? Research carried out by the United States Department of Agriculture provides some answers.
Their study investigated the physiological stress responses in foxes pursued for approximately 5 minutes by dogs and then killed.
Autopsies performed on the foxes revealed haemorrhage of the heart and lungs and congestion of adrenal glands and kidneys. Blood analysis showed high levels of enzymes that reflect tissue damage. Edema, discoloration, haemorrhage and inflammation were found in muscle tissue.
The study also observed that the foxes had experienced a breakdown of muscle tissue caused by the exertion of the chase. This is often followed by brain damage, paralysis and death, meaning that even foxes which evade capture are at risk.
Video: The cruelty of foxhunting
(Duration: 06:27 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7PK3E982Bw
Videos: Drag Hunting - The humane alternative
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25MHNZUn8
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGKwAa91j9Q
****************************************************
URGENT: Tell Frazier Mountain High School to Cancel 'Donkey Basketball' Game
Peta call for action to stop this 'sport', click on this link
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/frazier_donkey_bball
****************************************************
Religious Leaders react to California Slaughterhouse Cruelty
The scandal of the dairy horror videoed by the Humane Society is shocking. I am afraid that it is only the tip of the iceberg and that other abuses of animals are recurrently taking place behind closed doors. The regulatory regimes recurrently are ignored, I am afraid and I think new vehicles are needed to protect animals in food systems to be treated more humanely.
Companies beyond the dairy business need to take notice, to review their practices and to ensure that the animals in their care are treated humanely. Citizens need to be demanding that the entire food and dairy system be reviewed with an examination of the guarantees that need to be in place to protect animals from treatment evidenced by this shocking example, more than lip service or verbal assurances are needed.
Brother David Andrews,
CSC
Coordinator for Justice and Peace
Congregation of Holy Cross
was disheartened to see such cruel treatment of these animals. I support the United Methodist Social Principles that call for the humane treatment of animals and the painless slaughtering of meat animals, fish and fowl.
Kenneth R. Fell, pastor, Memorial United Methodist Church, Poolesville, Maryland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watching your video on the incredibly cruel treatment of beef cattle breaks the heart, breaks the spirit and breaks any resistance to working for change. It is truly outrageous how the whole factory farming industry (of all meat animals) is wreaking intense—almost seemingly purposeful—cruelty beyond most people's ability to even comprehend!
Truly this is NOT how God intended humankind to treat the other creatures with whom we share this planet—and on whom we depend for so much, even beyond food! God obviously loved these beings enough to create them for his/her pleasure from the very beginning. If we want to talk about "sin" in this world, this wanton cruelty nears the very top of the list! Repentance and forsaking such sin is the stuff of which forgiveness and new beginnings is all about!
Rev. Dale Kelley
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Alaska
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People of all faiths can join voices to celebrate the USDA's recent stand
for human decency. By shutting down the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing
Company, the USDA sends a clear message: we have responsibilities for
the animals in our care, even those raised for meat. As a minister, I'm
all too aware that current procedures in slaughterhouses and factory farms
are out of step with society's desire that animals be treated humanely,
for their sake and for ours.
To believe that humans have stewardship over other animals is to believe that we have special responsibilities to ensure their well-being—responsibilities that come with the role of steward. To believe in creationism or evolution is to believe that animals and humans come from the same source and are literally kin—that is to say, family. To believe that meat-eating is an archaic practice that should be left in the past, or to believe that meat-eating is natural and should be treated as such, is to take a moral stance against the mechanized, systemic abuse of animals in modern animal agriculture.
Whether we believe that God has a plan for humanity, or that spirituality has more to do with actions than beliefs, or that we are on our own to make way in this universe, we must grow to understand the special responsibility these beliefs place on us: to build a more decent society.
What a wonder: a government agency taking a meaningful moral stance that people of all faiths can celebrate. When it comes to aligning the agricultural industry with our values as a society, may it be so today, and tomorrow and tomorrow.
The Rev. John Gibb
Millspaugh
Minister
Tapestry, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Mission Viejo, California
****************************************************
Irish MEP is "odd man out" in support for cruel seal hunt - see the video
a mother seal can
identify her baby from among the thousands of seals by smell alone,
she can recognise her pup's dead body too.
Irish MEP, Sean O Neachtain, has been described as "very much the odd man out" for backing Canada's barbaric seal hunters. The Fianna Fail MEP sparked outrage this week after he declared: ?I will be supporting the seal hunters". Mr O Neachtain's bizarre stance has been condemned by animal welfare groups across Ireland.
Click on this link to view the video (scroll to bottom of page): http://www.banbloodsports.com/ln-0802g.htm
Visit the Irish Council Against Blood Sports website: http://www.banbloodsports.com/
****************************************************
Pigs of god please sign petition to end this cruelty
Please
sign petition on www.pigsofgod.org
and then pass on to everyone else to do so too. Only takes a second and
may help stop the horrible
practice of fattening up a pig till it dies.
****************************************************
Slaughter house in California ***this is graphic***
This
is footage of a slaughter house in California, please look at it, and
see what happened these poor cows, beware it is graphic
YouTube also has alot of HSUS footage on this and other related issues:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zhlhSQ5z4V4
****************************************************
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Dear WSPA Supporter,
It’s hard to imagine being trapped in a hot car or packed train for more than a couple of hours. But imagine if the doors didn’t open for weeks at a time?
That’s the reality for millions of frightened and stressed animals crammed into lorries for days on end, only to be slaughtered at the end of their journey.
In just one week, more than one million pigs, cows, sheep and horses will endure hunger, exhaustion and thirst on journeys like this. Horrific injuries and disease kill many before they reach their destination. Find out more >>
The worst thing is – there’s no reason for this to happen. Modern chilled vehicles can transport carcasses safely, so animals can be slaughtered humanely near to where they are reared.
At WSPA, we think it’s about time these cruel and unnecessary journeys stopped. So this week we launched an ambitious new campaign, Handle With Care, in Trafalgar Square, London. Read more about the event >>
We need all of you who care about animals to help us end these terrible journeys. It’s time the UK and other EU countries became true leaders in improving animal welfare.
Please take action by writing to the European Commission today. Take action now >>
****************************************************
 |
 |
Galway 2008, is this your image of it?
In this
day and age sights like this should be a thing of the past but sadly for
animal welfare groups all over Ireland it is still a daily occurrence.
This is the body of a Lurcher found by our inspector this morning (18/02/08).
It was tied by a chain from the top of the box to a hook on its collar.
There was no evidence of water, food, or bedding and bear in mind, last
night was around -3. For a healthy dog the cold last night would have
been tough but for a poor dog starved, no coat due to mange it was death,
a thankful finish to its suffering.
The dog
was discovered at the back of the new halting site at Doughiska, Galway.
At the back of the houses is what could be described as a path closed
at both ends but with access by 2 gates. The houses on the right hand
side of the halting site by which this path runs behind stands 3 dog kennels
(home made) and the Lurcher was in the middle one.
Both our inspector and the attending Gardai were very upset and shocked
at this sight, indeed the Gardai and our inspector said it was the worst
they ever saw. The body is basically skin covering bones, no hair due
to mange but from what we could see it was a brindle dog. On examination
we think the dog died over night or early this morning.
We would make a heart felt appeal to the good living, law abiding members
of the travelling community to come forward with the evidence we need.
Please don't let a minority of your community ruin your image. By staying
quiet, your silence is saying "we don't mind, and we know you do
mind", so please stop covering up for the people who give you all
a bad name.
Finally to the gentleman who told (we presume his wife) "get the
f++++++ GSPCA van out of here", we will be back checking.
***************************************************
Stop the Long Distance Transport of Animals for Slaughter
February 12, 2008, marks the release of a two-year investigation by Handle with Care, a global coalition of national and international animal welfare organizations — including Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute (Born Free USA)— seeking to end the long-distance transport of animals for slaughter.
Revealed in the investigative footage, gathered across several countries and continents, is evidence of the brutality of transporting live animals long distances — only for them to be slaughtered at the journey’s end.
“Anyone who watches the footage of pigs desperately trying to escape when they are finally let out of containers in Hawaii after more than a week of brutal confinement cannot help but be moved by their suffering. It is unconscionable to permit the unnecessary long distance transport of animals to continue,” said Monica Engebretson, Born Free USA’s Senior Program Associate.
We need you to help us put a stop this cruel and unnecessary trade as soon as possible. So please check out the ways you can help and take action today.
Canada to Hawaii route
deemed one of the worst for cruelty
In 2007, the Coalition conducted an investigation into one of the worst
transportation routes pigs travel in North America, and uncovered a number
of serious animal welfare problems.
This 4,000-mile journey from Canada to Hawaii — endured by up to 15,000 pigs a year — was one of four international routes exposed on undercover footage. During the seven to nine day trip, by truck from Alberta and then by ship from California ports to Honolulu, pigs never leave cramped, filthy containers for food, water or rest. The surviving animals are then slaughtered in Hawaii and sold to unsuspecting consumers as “Island Produced Pork” or served in restaurants or at luaus.
To view the footage, and to find out more about the investigation, the issue, and the current law, click here. From there you can also access the coalition website to find out about additional routes exposed in this investigation, and about what the coalition is doing — with your help — to change this appalling issue across the globe.
How You Can Help
Hawaii Food Products and Wong’s Meat Market are the importers of
all pigs to Oahu, and wholesalers of pork products on the island. Please
contact Hawaii Foods Products and politely request that it stop importing
pigs and misleading consumers about the origins of its meat products.
Norman Oshiro
President & CEO
Hawaii Food Products
94-403 Ukee Street
Waipahu, HI 96797
email address to come
http://www.api4animals.org/actionalerts.php?p=1494&more=1
images of what they
endure:
http://www.api4animals.org/a6a6_transport.php
No Vacation for Pigs
More Images » Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs are crammed into trucks and shipping containers for an agonizing journey of more than 4,000 miles, from Canada to Hawaii, that ends at the slaughterhouse.
During this journey the pigs are never once unloaded to the ground to rest and go for long periods of time without receiving water or food. Due to overcrowding, stress, fighting, and overexposure, many pigs become ill or die. At the end of the journey they're crudely unloaded into cramped, filthy pens at the slaughterhouse, where they may remain for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered.
Pigs are particularly ill-suited to long distance transport. They suffer from motion sickness, tend to fight among themselves when crowded together, and their bodies have a difficult time adjusting to high temperatures.
It doesn't have to be this way.
Handle with Care, a global coalition of national and international animal protection organizations (including Born Free USA united with API), is seeking to end the long-distance transport of animals for slaughter.
The Investigation
In 2007, the Coalition (of which Born Free USA united with API is a member)
conducted an investigation into one of the worst transportation routes
pigs travel in North America. Every year 10,000 to 15,000 pigs endure
this journey of more than 4,000 miles:
Day 1: Pigs leave
Perlich Bros. Auction Market in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Some were
transported 227 miles just to get here.
Day 2: After being transported more than 1,300 miles by truck, the pigs
arrive at Muzzy Ranch in Vacaville, California (operated by Pacific Livestock
Co.). They are put directly into shipping containers without ever being
unloaded to the ground to rest.
Day 3: The pigs leave Vacaville and are driven to Oakland (or in some
fewer cases to Long Beach) were they are loaded aboard a ship operated
by Matson Navigation.
Day 4–8: Pigs endure a 4 day journey onboard Matson Navigation vessel.
The pigs are finally fed but the food may run out a day or more before
the shop reaches port. Animals that die on the journey are thrown overboard.
Day 8: Arriving in Honolulu, it is usually several hours before the pigs
are unloaded from the ship. They are left sitting in the heat with minimal
ventilation.
Day 9: In the morning, the pigs travel another hour by truck to the Hawaii
Livestock Cooperative, the only federally-inspected slaughterhouse on
Oahu Island. It slaughters the majority of pigs processed in Hawaii. Stressed
and weakened from their journey, the pigs are crudely unloaded into cramped,
filthy pens.
Day 10–24: The pigs may remain in crowded pens at the slaughterhouse
for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered. Hawaii Food Products and Wong's
Meat Market are the importers of all pigs transported from the mainland
to Oahu Island and thus the principal clients of Hawaii Livestock Cooperative
slaughterhouse.
During the journey, the pigs are never once unloaded to the ground to
rest and go for long periods of time without receiving water or food.
Most pigs slaughtered in Hawaii come from Canada and the meat is sold
to unsuspecting locals and tourists as "Island Produced" pork.
Serious Animal Welfare
Problems
The Handle with Care investigators uncovered a number of serious animal
welfare problems when they followed shipments of pigs from Canada to Hawaii.
These include:
The duration of the
journey (7 to 9 days and sometimes longer) is far too long.
The pigs are never unloaded to the ground for food, water, and rest.
The animals are moved multiple times, increasing the potential for stress
and spread of disease.
Overcrowded conditions result in fighting, increased aggression, and stress.
The pigs are kept in shipping containers, with minimal ventilation.
The pigs are left sitting in the full sun for hours on end, sometimes
enduring temperatures up to 100° F.
Pigs were roughly treated with electrical prods and crude implements during
loading and unloading.
Sick and injured pigs are often left untreated.
The ramp used for unloading the animals at the slaughterhouse is too steep,
causing some pigs to panic and increasing their stress levels.
The slaughterhouse has been cited by the USDA for the inhumane handling
and slaughter of animals.
The slaughterhouse holding pens are so overcrowded that pigs are forced
to lie on top of one another, some coughing continuously.
It doesn't have to be this way.
What the Law Says
Under the Health of Animals Act, Canadian transport regulations prohibit
transporting sick or injured animals, crowding animals to the extent that
it could cause injury or undue suffering and confines pigs in a motor
vehicle for longer than 36 hours unless the animals are fed, watered,
and rested. All of these were observed during this investigation. However,
the pigs travel on Canadian roadways for less than 3 hours after leaving
the Lethbridge auction house and current regulations do not apply once
the truck crosses the border.
In the United States of America, less than one-third of states have adopted laws that restrict the amount of time animals may be confined during transportation, and many of those that do, allow up to 36 hours or more of confinement without food, water, or rest. The Federal 28-Hour Law, enacted in 1906 and amended in 1994, covers the interstate transport of animals for sale or slaughter. Generally it requires that livestock being transported across state lines be humanely unloaded into pens for food, eater, and at least 5 hours of rest every 28 hours.
While this law does not apply when the pigs are transported between states by ship, our investigators found that the pigs were never unloaded for food, water and rest while transported by truck from Alberta to California and during their time at the Muzzy Ranch. This could be a potential violation of the Federal 28-Hour Law.
You Have the Power
to Make a Difference
Help us stop this cruel and unnecessary trade.
Hawaiian locals and
tourists should ask restaurant and supermarket managers to never offer
pork from live animals transported from the mainland.
Hawaiian markets, restaurants, and hotels should instruct their suppliers
they do not want meat from live animals transported from the mainland.
North American producers should stop exporting live animals to Hawaii.
The Hawaiian Legislature should require that the Island Produced label
only be used on meat from animals raised on the islands.
Find out how you can help right now! Go to www.handlewithcare.tv
to see additional footage and find out more ways to help the global campaign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Handle with Care Coalition
The Handle with Care Coalition (North America) consists of:
World Society for
the Protection of Animals
Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute
Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals
Here is a letter to copy and paste to your word program so all you have to do is print it out, sign your name and address the envelope. My hope is to make it easy for you to WRITE and MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Dear Mr. Oshiro:
I was disturbed to learn that Hawaii Food Products imports thousands of
pigs every year that must travel from as far away as Canada under miserable
conditions. Please stop importing live pigs to Hawaii immediately. It
is unnecessary and dramatically influences the welfare of upwards of 15,000
animals each year.
These pigs are forced to endure a 7 to 9 day journey confined to crowded, unsanitary shipping containers, without once being allowed to rest on the ground. They are then kept in crowded, stressful conditions at the Oahu slaughterhouse for up to 2 weeks before being slaughtered.
During transport by ship, the pigs suffer from fatigue and motion sickness, as well as overcrowding — which can result in fighting and even animals being crushed to death.
No U.S. laws currently address the treatment and care of live animals shipped from mainland U.S. to Hawaii by sea. Additionally, transporting and holding animals for extended periods increases the probability that they will be exposed to disease that could lead to contamination.
I thank you for considering my request to stop importing live pigs, and for doing your part to end unnecessary animal suffering. I await your response in this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
***************************************************
Pamela Anderson Protests Canada's Seal Hunt in Paris
Dear
ARAN Members,
Exciting news! Pamela Anderson was in Paris yesterday where she launched
a news conference to expose Canada's heartbreaking seal hunt.
The news conference to place at the headquarters of Foundation Bridget
Bardot and was literally covered with reporters from across Europe brining
much needed attention to the plight of the seals, she later delivered
a letter to the Canadian Ambassador in France urging him to put pressure
on
his government in Canada the very ones who lie to the public and the media
and who tell people everything is really ok! She also spoke with Bridget
Bardot from her home in St Tropez, Bridget Bardot was the Pamela Anderson
of the 60's and 70's a super international celebrity who is now in her
70's and still campaigning for animals.
Here is an exciting video link so that you can see, Pamela in action!
<http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6444456&lang=fr>
We hope that you'll take time out to a very special protest being organized
by Animal Rights Action Network in March outside the Canadian Embassy
in Dublin, details we'll be mailing to all our supporters very soon.
Thank you for doing everything you can do to stop Canada killing seals,
John Carmody :-)
Campaigns Coordinator
Animal Rights Action Network
'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland'
www.ARAN.ie
***************************************************
Shocking News: Irish MEP Supports Canada's Seal Slaughter
| Dear
ARAN Members, We can't believe it either, but yes it's true! At a time when the world is closing in on Canada's gruesome slaughter of seal pups and when the EU are at a critical stage on determining whether a ban on Canadian seal products should come into place or not we hear some bad news for the seals. Irish MEP 'Sean O Neachtain' has been part of a delegation to the European parliament to promote Canada's cruel seal hunt. He visited the parliament with fisheries and governmental delegates from Canada, the very ones who promote lies to the public and the media in order to reverse growing opposition to the hunt in Europe. You can read more about the issue here <http://www.thewesternstar.com/ and we have as of this morning confirmed it's accurate. URGENT - TAKE ACTION: Please, email immediately your views on Canada's seal hunt and let Irish MEP 'Sean O Neachtain' know how you feel about Canada's merciless and barbaric seal slaughter email him at: sean.oneachtain@europarl.europa.eu Thank you for being a true voice for animals and supporting ARAN's work, stay tuned for details of ARAN's annual Canadian seal protest this coming March! Thank you, Stephan Wymore Research Coordinator Animal Rights Action Network 'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland' www.ARAN.ie |
|
Irish
politician won’t support seal ban www.thewesternstar.com
JAMIE BAKER
Transcontinental Media
BRUSSELS, Belgium — As a member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing a rural Irish region, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Seán Ó Neachtain won’t support any potential European Union (EU) ban on imported Canadian seal products.
Convincing his 784 colleagues may not be an easy sell.
“Oh yes, we’re always in a tough fight whenever we enter this arena,” the Irish MEP says of the battle to ensure European parliament members get both sides of the seal hunt story.
He admits the bulk of information flowing onto his colleagues’ desks is coming from groups opposed to the hunt. And in Brussels, where political lobbying is a standalone industry, Ó Neachtain says providing all the facts is crucial if there is to be any hope of halting the ban plan.
“I’ve talked to the stakeholders and I believe in subsidiarity,” Ó Neachtain said. “I will be supporting the seal hunters because I believe that they have the political support. And who am I from afar to say, ‘Stop this?’”
Ó Neachtain
is the MEP for Connacht and Ulster, a mostly rural district in western
Ireland.
A member of the Fianna Fáil Party, Ó Neachtain is also chairman
of the delegation for relations with Canada.
He says it was a visit to Canada and a meeting with the standing committee on fisheries and oceans that convinced him to support the hunt.
“What the parliamentary committee told me made a big impression on me,” Ó Neachtain said. “When we met all the members of the fisheries committee from every political group — not one political group wanted us to stop the hunt as we were lobbied to do from the other side. That political message came across very strongly.”
In December, the European food safety organization released a report focused on the humaneness and conservation issues surrounding the hunt. The EU has since commissioned another report, to be done by a Danish consultant. That report is expected March 1 and it is believed any decision to ban the import of Canadian seal products in Europe would come shortly thereafter.
Belgium banned the importing and marketing of Canadian seal products last April. Prior to the matter being tossed into the EU political machinery in Brussels, there had also been talk that Italy and Germany might implement similar bans.
Like Ó Neachtain, Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn agrees that animal conservation groups have been winning the lobby battle on the ground in Belgium.
In fact, he said it’s only thanks to the diligence of Newfoundland and Labrador politicians and groups over the years that the battle has been more equally fought on Canadian shores.
“If we had not educated the 308 MPs downstairs, then a lot of people could have been sucked in,” Hearn said from Ottawa. 12/02/08
***************************************************
| Galway
East Constituency
Ulick Burke
(Fine Gael)
|
Galway
West Constituency
Frank Fahey
(Fianna Fáil) Michael D. Higgins
(Labour)
|
Galway City Councillors South Ward
Cllr. Catherine
Connolly (Lab) Cllr. Donal
Lyons (PD) Cllr. John Mulholland
(FG) Cllr. Niall
Ó'Brolcháin (GP) West Ward Cllr. Billy
Cameron (Lab) Cllr. Pádraig
Conneely (FG) Cllr. Colette
Connolly (Lab) Cllr. John Connolly
(FF) North &
East Ward Cllr. Daniel
Callanan (SF) Cllr. Tom Costello
(Lab) Cllr. Michael
J. Crowe (Ind) Cllr. Michael
Leahy (FF) Cllr. Declan
McDonnell (PD) Cllr. Terry
O'Flaherty (PD) Cllr. Brian
Walsh (FG) - Mayo |
|
Irish MEP's Proinsias De
Rossa (Labour) Mary Lou Mc
Donald (Sinn Féin) Gay Mitchell
TD (Fine Gael) Eoin Ryan TD
(Fianna Fáil) |
East Leinster counties excluding Dublin Liam Aylward
TD (Fianna Fáil) Avril Doyle
(Fine Gael) Mairead McGuinness
(Fine Gael) |
North West Connacht, Clare and the 3 Ulster counties in the ROI Marian Harkin
TD (Independent)
Simon Coveney
TD (Fine Gael)
Kathy Sinnott
(Independent) |
***************************************************
Urgent: Contact Fianna Fail TDs to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'
Dear
ARAN Members,
January 30th 2008, Animal Rights Action Network organized a huge protest
outside of the Department of Agriculture to kick off our campaign to 'Ban
Fur Farming in Ireland'. Joined by up to 60 ARAN members and supporters
along with backing from our colleagues at Compassion in World Farming
(CIWF) <http://www.ciwf.ie/> and Irish Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) <http://www.ispca.ie/> , our event
sparked huge media interest in our campaign nationwide with coverage in
many Irish national newspapers, nationwide coverage on radio stations
in just about every
city, RTE television showing some footage of our protest on their 6.01pm
slot and full coverage of our campaign in Donegal by supportive radio
stations and newspapers.
Animal Rights Action Network is today launching our 'Ban Fur Farming in
Ireland' campaign. Since 2005 there has being an active campaign by our
friends at Compassion in World Farming (CIWF Ireland) who are doing fantastic
work on the campaign, Animal Rights Action Network intends to
add weight in order to achieve a ban on fur farming in Ireland without
delay. In order for this campaign to be successful, it's crucial you do
all you can
to support our campaign. This year we have an opportunity to get legislation
into the new upcoming animal welfare bill which we are hoping will be
released late 2008 or early 2009, this has being done with similar legislation
in Croatia to ban fur farming, but in order for us to achieve this goal
you must take part in our campaign and do whatever you can between now
and then to support ARAN's campaign to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'.
Your support at this crucial time could help save lives and stop animal
suffering.
TAKE ACTION:
1) Please write a snail mail letter to Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan
and express your concern at animal suffering on Irish fur farms, urge
her to ban fur farming in Ireland without delay.
* Minister Mary Coughlan
Office of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food,
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street,
Dublin 2.
2) Email your letter also, send it to both these addresses
Martina.Kearney@agriculture.gov.ie; minister@agriculture.gov.ie
3) Critically important, we urgently need you to contact your Fianna Fail
TD's in your area and ask them to support a ban on fur farming in
Ireland. Please contact ARAN for details of your councilors and TD's in
your city.
If this campaign is to be successful, it's crucial you to write, call
and email Minister Mary Coughlan urging her to ban fur farming in Ireland
without delay, it's also important that you contact Fianna Fail TD's in
your area to express your concern and ask for their support on such a
ban.
Please contact Animal Rights Action Network, get involved with this campaign,
it will not be successful if we do not receive your support.
Many thanks for everything you do to support Animal Rights Action Network's
work to stop cruelty to animals.
Sincerely,
Animal Rights Action Network <http://www.ARAN.ie>
'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland'
please click on this 'link
<http://www.vierpfoten.hu/website/output.php?id=1083&language=1>
', you'll be able to read about a similar campaign in Hungry from the
group Four
Paws. Can we please ask that you scroll to the end of the link and watch
the short video, it's not graphic but it does show very much a lot of
similarities to that of Irish fur farms and of course some of the animals
being used too.
***************************************************
Fur Poll on Daily Mail Website
Hi guys, please vote YES! And circulate as far as possible, John Carmody
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/dmpolls/index.html?in_poll_id=20515&in_page_id=711
You Want MY SKIN To Wear On YOU. Let's Dance
***************************************************
This
is the picture that the Japanese government does not want the world to
see a mother and baby harpooned and killed in the name of what they refer
to as 'research' which to put it mildly is bull. Actually its their excuse
to break the international ,cause horrific cruelty and a slow and terrible
death of anything from twenty to thirty minutes.
How sad that a country known for beauty,gentleness is now known for slaughter
,law breaking, and is now the shamed country of the world. We thank the
Australian authorities for releasing the video of the hunt which has incensed
the Japanese government. Please have a close look at the baby which was
still nursing and see its little intestines where it was hit , not on
the head like the Japanese government would want us to believe. The only
way to hit the Japanese government is in the pocket please do not go and
visit Japan, buy its goods until they stop this slaughter. Not so long
ago Japan was in the news for their treatment of prisoners of war during
WW2 , now sadly again they are in the news for murder but this times it
is whales and this time they call it research do not be fooled there is
no research.
The GSPCA would publicly now ask the harbour master, Gardai, city council,
Dept. of Agriculture, Dept of the Marine to officially check out the Japanese
factory fishing ships the next time they call to Galway, who knows what
they carry or what they hide. Indeed we would say refuse them entry to
Galway or any Irish port until the needless slaughter that the Japanese
government refuse to stop is stopped.
The video can be found at http://uk.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=75749
or by doing a search online with the tags Japanese whale hunt calf. It
is also posted on YouTube.
The deaths are violent and these mammals can take a long time to die.
They are hit with an exploding harpoon; death is not instant. It is upsetting
to watch but please watch and then so something otherwise the Japanese
government might think we do not care .The killing of he baby whale is
against international law.
Japan is very angry that the video was taken and released by Australia.
***************************************************
Please
read and you will understand why we are fighting for the cats and dogs
in South Korea and Asians countries.
A LETTER SENT BY A YOUNG SOUTH KOREAN WOMAN
The man dragged the dog for about twenty meters and tied him to a post.
The dog was screaming in pain. The man used his two hands to pull the
dog's tail with all his strength, causing the dog to be choked, crushing
his backbone. Using all his strength he pulled the dog by his left leg.
Next he did the same with the right leg. While the dog was still alive,
he was tearing his body apart. The dog was moaning with horrible pain.
He took a short break, looking at the dog and observing the dog's dying
condition. He waited a few minutes and proceeded to repeat these actions
three more times over the next thirty minutes. I asked the man why are
you killing the dog so painfully, so cruelly? Why can't you kill him quickly?
He thought I was someone who enjoyed dog meat. He smiled at me and proudly
told me, "Dogs should take a long time to be killed, that way it
tastes better." My heart was aching; I couldn't breathe from the
shock. I ran back to my Inn, my face covered in sweat and tears. I cried,
"White dog, I wish you peace in heaven. The man who killed you is
so cruel, how can he be part of our Korean people? Someday the butcher
will die. I believe that he will die just like you, with pain.
Slowly strangled or bludgeoned to death each year before they are boiled,
cut up and eaten.
This horrific mistreatment of innocent animals goes on because Korean
authorities are turning their backs to the dog and cat meat trade even
though Korean law forbids the sale and consumption of dog meant...even
though the country's Animal Protection Law considers cats and dogs to
be companion animals.
Unfortunately, with the unspoken acceptance of the government, unscrupulous
people are promoting the myth that eating that eating severely mistreated
dogs and cats increases male sexual powers and general health. They bribe
government officials, intimidate animal welfare campaigners and induce
newspapers to extol the "virtues" of dog meat. It's inconceivable
to me that innocent beings whom we consider "man's best friends"
could be so brutally killed, butchered and eaten.
We must pressure South Korean officials to amend existing animal protection
laws to unequivocally state, "dogs and cats should not be
slaughtered for human consumption."
Please friends of dogs and cats, these precious animals have no origin,
they have no race, let everyone know about this cruel man and his
acts..help us here at this group with letters and signing petitions.
I am begging you for your help in ending this horrific travesty.
Please join our group: HELP US SAVE THE ANIMALS OF ASIA (type in the search
box above the top right corner Help Us Save The
Animals of Asia and it will bring you to the group)
Thank you for your support,
Linda
***************************************************
The Australian
government released its Customs video of the Japanese Whale Hunt. The
Japanese whalers will kill about 1000 whales this season. This video shows
the killing of a whale mother and her calf. The Japanese call this 'research'
to get around international whaling bans. The video can be found at http://uk.reuters.com/news/video/videoStory?videoId=75749
or by doing a search online with the tags Japanese whale hunt calf. It
is also posted on YOuTube. The deaths are violent and these mammals can
take a long time to die. They are hit with an exploding harpoon; death
is not instant. The killing of he baby whale is against international
law. Japan is very angry that the video was taken and released by Australia.
I hope animal lovers in the USA can support us in Australia in our bid
to protect these magnificent mammals and to prevent the cruelty of this
kill. Japan is a major trading partner with the USA and your influence
can help stop this. Please read the online news on the topic of the Japanese
Whale Hunt, such as http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3325580.ece
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004171231_whaling08.html
Please distribute information and the link to the video to your fellow
Americans and please sign this online petition.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/171642723
Thank
you.
Sandra
PS If the links do not work please copy & past into your browser.
***************************************************
Help make this Chinese New Year a good one for sharks
Help stop the cruel practice of shark finning.
Sign the No Shark
Fin pledge.
<https://community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_ind_shark_fin_pledge/ws5567sr27jw7j3j?>
Tomorrow is the first day of the Chinese (or Lunar) New Year, when people around the world usher in the Year of the Rat. Sadly, many celebrations will serve shark fin soup. That's why I'm writing today to ask you to sign Humane Society International's No Shark Fin Pledge. <https://community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_ind_shark_fin_pledge/ws5567sr27jw7j3j?>
Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year in oceans around the world to meet the growing demand for shark fin. Sharks’ fins are often removed when the animals are still alive; the sharks are then thrown back into the water to endure a painful death from suffocation, blood loss, or predation by other species.
Sharks play an essential role in marine ecosystems. The cruel and ecologically devastating practice of shark finning endangers their survival -- and that of the species that rely on them.
You can help:
* Sign the Pledge:
Thousands of people have already signed HSI’s No Shark Fin pledge.
If you have not yet signed this pledge, please do so now
<https://community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_ind_shark_fin_pledge/ws5567sr27jw7j3j?>
-- and encourage your friends and family to sign as well.
<https://community.hsus.org/campaign/hsi_ind_shark_fin_pledge/forward/ws5567sr27jw7j3j?>
*
*
* Ask Restaurants Not to Serve Shark Fin Soup: If you see shark fin
on a restaurant menu, please ask the management to stop serving it.
Click here <https://community.hsus.org/ct/DpAJ0Z91XRRe/consumer_cards>
for consumer cards to print out and hand to restaurant managers.
*
*
* Get the Word Out: If there is a Chinese New Year celebration in your
city, please distribute HSI’s brochures <https://community.hsus.org/ct/K1AJ0Z91XRRd/brochures>
that explain the cruel practice of shark finning and ask consumers to
avoid shark fin soup.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can bring good fortune to sharks in the New Year, please contact us <mailto:schen@hsi.org> .
Thank you for all that you do to help animals.
Sincerely,
Andrew Rowan
Chief Executive Officer
Humane Society International
info@hsi.org <mailto:info@hsi.org> | 301-258-3010 | www.hsi.org <https://community.hsus.org/ct/D7AJ0Z91XRR3/>
***************************************************
http://www.radiustoothbrush.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&C...
http://www.jason-natural.com/home.php
http://store.methodhome.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry?CID=0&SID=52437...
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/
http://www.paulmitchell.com/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.allforanimals.com/cruelfree1.htm
http://www.avalonorganics.com/index.php?title=Five+Elements+of+Cons...
http://www.navs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index
***************************************************
Rights For Animals
(The e-news for Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) - Ireland’s National Protection Organization) January 2008
Editorial
Dear Animal Rights Action Network supporters. Over the last few months our supporter lists are continuing to grow as is our media coverage, this can only be good news because it means that we can now do more to help animals across the country. Our supporter base in Dublin, Northern Ireland, Limerick City and Cork are also growing really fast which is good news as many of the protests we organize for Dublin are central to many of our campaigns. Here at Animal Rights Action Network we cannot overly stress how peaceful and non-violent ARAN’s work is. We continue to do our best to make sure that everything from ARAN is thoroughfull, accurate, genuine -- whilst we continue to hold integrity, vision and most important impatience. Here you’ll read more about some of the events Animal Rights Action Network held over the last few weeks, we do not mention most of the work that goes on behind the scenes with the research and lobbying that takes place. These events are crucial in our efforts to confront cruelty to animals along with raising public awareness and generating important positive media coverage.
Our members make all of this work happen. You continue to support Animal Rights Action Network in so many different ways, we simply could not do this without many of our loyal and caring members and supporters. Don’t forget to read the THANK YOU section of this e-news, we think it’s important to highlight many good people who do their ‘bit’ to help support our campaigns. Although the number of people doing something to help Animal Rights Action Network is increasing we’ll get through at least 20 names on every e-news, so don’t worry if your name is not mentioned now as we’ll include it in the next e-news if you are one of the many who help support our work.
Many thanks for all you do to help Animal Rights Action Network
John Carmody
Founder of Animal Rights Action Network
www.ARAN.ie
In January’s Online Issue:-
1. Brown Thomas to
Go Fur Free
2. Arnotts Joins ARAN’s ‘Fur Free Ireland Program’
3. SNIP Continues to Highlight Neutering
4. ARAN To Fight Horse Drawn Carriages
5. ‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’, New Campaign
6. ‘Drive Fur Out of Ireland’, Campaign Tour
7. Naked ARAN Demo Gets Attention for Veggies
8. Consider Giving Monthly to ARAN
9. ARAN & IAVS Team up to Protest Vivisection in Ireland
10. Animal Rights Action Network in The News
11. New Greyhound Stadium in Limerick, ARAN Objects
12. ARAN Supports New Circus Motion Bills
13. Celine O Donovan & Irish Times Coverage
14. Blind Folded Activists from ARAN Protest Fur Farming
15. ARAN’s Thank You Section
AFTER YEARS OF CAMPAIGNING BROWN THOMAS TO GO FUR FREE
Brown Thomas, Ireland’s leading department store has contacted Animal Rights Action Network to state the company is going fur free as of February 2008. Prior to the store’s announcement Animal Rights Action Network had being campaigning to urge the chain to go fur free for many years and was indeed one of our first anti-fur campaign targets. ARAN’s campaign took to the streets in every city where BT had stores, our activists protests inside and outside the store wearing real fur coats covered in ‘blood’ with signs reading ‘Brown Thomas Fur Shame’, we also had activists turn up nude with banners reading ‘BT, Turn Your Back on Fur’, we also had many other creative demonstrations including store takeovers. Behind the scenes our campaigners worked hard contacting the store and showing them the cruelty associated with the killing of animals for their skins. ARAN would also like to thank other groups, members and activists who also played a part in helping the store to go fur free.
ARNOTTS DEPARTMENT STORE JOINS ARAN’S ‘FUR FREE IRELAND’ PROGRAM
Animal Rights Action Network can officially announce that Dublin department store Arnotts based on Henry Street is joining ARAN’s ‘Fur Free Ireland’ program which is working with leading department stores, fashion boutiques and business’s that are saying no to fur. We are also pleased to announce that Arnotts have a fur free policy in place for many years thus sending a very strong message out to other retailers that you can still have a killer look, without actually killing. Arnotts now joins the ranks of other leading companies such as Brown Thomas, Debenhams, Karen Millen, Marks & Spencers, Dunnes Stores, ZARA, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, H & M and many more that now have fur free policies in place.
Animal Rights Action Network would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the company on joining our ‘Fur Free Ireland’ program.
ARAN WORKS IN LOCAL CITY’S TO HIGHLIGHT SNIP PROGRAM
Several years ago Animal Rights Action Network launched a program to help create awareness of the dog & cat overpopulation. The program is called SNIP’ Spay & Neuter Immediately Please. Animal Rights Action Network’s program works in low income housing estates, generating local media coverage, advertising in local veterinary surgeries to create awareness as to why it’s cuter to neuter. ARAN also stresses the importance to the public who get to see our program as to how important adopting from rescue groups and pounds in order to save an animals life instead of supporting puppy breeders who kill the chances of a rescued animal getting a loving caring home. ARAN has also contacted several SPCA’s and rescue groups across the country who have no kill policies, a policy in which ARAN completely supports to help them raise awareness of our program and how we can best assist them. If you are from a local SPCA or rescue group then please email Animal Rights Action Network to find out more, arancampaigns@eircom.net
HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES, CARRIGAGES OF CRUELT SAYS ARAN
In Dublin and Kilarney on any given day you’ll find horse drawn carriages ferrying tourists around their towns showing them historic sites and other attractions, but what the tourist rarely gets to see is how these poor horses suffer. Horses that are forced to ‘work’ long hours in order to try and make as much money as they can for the ‘owner’ that literally run the animals to the ground. These horses can be seeing out at all hours of the day and night and in all sorts of weather extremes. Animal Rights Action Network is urging members in Dublin and Kilarney to contact us with any information they may have on horse drawn carriage cruelty as we are working on a program to highlight the cruelty. In New York ARAN has being coordinating with the Horse Drawn Carriage Coalition to support their new legislation that has being introduced to outlaw the cruel spectacle, their campaign continue to raise awareness with rock star P!nk recently putting a huge billboard up in Times Square to raise awareness of the cruelty of horse drawn carriages.
HELP SUPPORT ARAN’S ‘BAN FUR FARMING IN IRELAND’ CAMPAIGN
Thanks to the ongoing work of CIWF Ireland, in 2005 Ireland was close to securing a ban on fur farming in Ireland, but narrowly missed the opportunity as it was voted down 67 votes to 50. This year ARAN has decided to launch our campaign and make it our number one priority where we will be staging events across the country to highlight the animal suffering on fur farms, we’ll be coordinating local community event, public support, political lobbying and much more. Animal Rights Action Network needs your support to help us make a difference and only by your participating support will we end fur farming in Ireland. Please email agriculture minister Mary Coughlan to ban fur farming in Ireland without delay, email
Martina.Kearney@agriculture.gov.ie.
DRIVE FUR OUT OF IRELAND, ARAN’S NEW CAMPAIGN TO HIGHLIGHT THE CRUEL FUR TRADE IN IRELAND
ARAN has launched our new winter anti-fur campaign called ‘Drive Fur Out of Ireland’ - a first for Ireland once again! Kicking off in Limerick city, the campaign will tour across Munster and will visit Shopping centre’s, clothing stores, art and design colleges and much more, of course our tour would not be complete without us inviting the media along, every step of the way! Our campaign car is kitted out with durable posters from PETA that read ‘Your Fur Had a Face’ which are safely secured onto every door. Inside, we’ll also have our famous Body Screen TV showing footage of animals on fur farms, whilst our dedicated Limerick team distribute educational materials to shoppers and students - we also plan on taking time out to speak with fashion and design students to learn them about how animals are tortured and cruelly treated on fur farms and that you can still have that killer look without actually killing anything! With so many fantastic humane alternatives out there, there’s simply no excuse for this animal abuse! To top all of this off, we’ll be using an attention grabbing megaphone to bring attention to our campaign car and tell shoppers about the alternatives to fur, all in all a friendly and professional way to bring about positive change for animals.
DEDICATED ARAN VOLUNTEER SINEAD HAYES SHOW’S THAT ALL ANIMALS HAVE THE SAME PARTS
Stripping down to
nearly nothing but paint markings that mimic a butcher's diagram of body
parts, a female member of Animal Rights Action Network activist posed
in Dublin's busiest shopping district to remind Christmas shoppers that
"All Animals Have the Same Parts – Have a Heart", and asked
them to "Go Veg this Christmas". It was a wonderful eye catching
way to grab the media’s attention and help direct countless meat
eaters to the plight of animals raised for food. With the Christmas season
upon us and revelers planning their Christmas menus, PETA wants to demonstrate
that all animals – including humans – are made of flesh, blood
and bone, and that we have the same senses and range of emotions. Every
year, billions of animals have their bodies chopped up, labeled as shanks
or other cuts of meat, and wrapped in cellophane for supermarkets' chilled
cabinets. In the wild, turkeys can live up to 10 years. But turkeys raised
for food spend three to six months crowded together in intensive confinement
and routinely endure painful mutilations such as debeaking without anesthetics.
The overwhelming majority of pigs raised for food in the EU spend their
entire lives in overcrowded pens on a tiny slab of filthy concrete. Lack
of exercise causes pigs to become so weak that they can barely walk. They
typically suffer skeletal problems and diseases of the legs and feet.
This live re-enactment of the famous “All Animals Have the Same Parts
– Have a Heart. Go Vegetarian” PETA advert which has featured
Jodie Marsh and Baywatch star Traci Bingham, is aimed at encouraging people
to view animals as more than walking meals. Animals raised for their flesh
have personalities and feelings and form families and friendships –
if they are given the chance.
"Animals aren't 'breasts' or 'thighs' or 'flanks'", says ARAN’s
Stephan Wymore. "They think, feel and want to live, just as you and
I do. We're asking people to celebrate a vegetarian Christmas and give
everyone – including animals – something to be thankful for
this holiday season."
MONTHLY GIVING TO ARAN CAN ENABLE US TO PLAN AHEAD
As many of you will be aware, it’s rare you’ll actually hear us talking about donations and the need for them. But as we become more visible on the street, in the boardroom and at the political level it’s fair to say Animal Rights Action Network is making some sort of progress and it does come at a price. Although we are lucky to have some amazing dedicated volunteers who work quietly behind the scenes with campaigning, lobbying, research, organizing and administration our biggest obstacle is funding. Animal Rights Action Network is not short of ideas, volunteers and a vision for the future, our single biggest impediment is money which is why we depend on kind members just like you to help us speak out for animals. Please consider joining a special group of people who give to ARAN on a monthly basis, you’re support will mean we become stronger and far more effective, you’re donation will go instantly to work to help animals in desperate situations and will help us to create real change and educate countless people who would otherwise may never hear the animals plight. Please log onto www.ARAN.ie to arrange to give your monthly commitment.
ARAN JOINS WITH IAVS FOR OUR THIRD INTERNATIONAL PRIMATE DAY
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our joint event with our good friends at Irish Anti Vivisection Society (IAVS). Numbers of people at this year’s event were up on our similar event last year outside Dail Eireann, which is good news. For over two hours activists distributed leaflets, a ‘monkey’ and a ‘rabbit’ ensured everyone including traffic on Dublin’s busiest O’Connell Street saw our banners and heard our message. Thankfully there was lots of support from many passersby with many people stopping to ask questions about animal experiments and cosmetic testing on animals, all in all it was a friendly and fun day that was bringing attention to a very serious issue of animal experiments. Thanks to all who participated in today’s event, activists and members came from Clare, Limerick, Sligo, Wicklow, Wexford and of course the amazing troops from Northern Ireland, let’s not forget all the amazing Dublin activists who attended today with whom Animal Rights Action Network admire, very much, indeed! So for those of you who could not make it today, don’t worry we don’t ever forget you either, please click here to see a short video, we always manage to have fun on these demos too, because the cruelty can most often be all to pressing! The number one thing people always ask is, how can I do more to help animals – our message is simple - including but not limited to responding to our appeals, attend our demos and go vegetarian. Animal Rights Action Network is now working with a reporter from a top Sunday broadsheet newspaper to generate a story on how animals are being killed in Irish laboratories, the story is due to appear shortly or sometime in February.
ARAN IN THE NEWS!!! ARAN IN THE NEWS!!! ARAN IN THE NEWS!!!
It’s fair to say that ARAN continues to grab the headlines of Ireland’s media outlets with almost every campaign we touch. With almost every single demonstration or unique eye catching protest we do, the media continue to promote our campaigns and feature our efforts in their columns and live on their airwaves. One question people often ask ARAN is they are worried the message of cruelty to animals is getting lost when we use willing often naked boys and girls. The reality is that as a grassroots organization we don’t have the huge budgets animal abusing industries have to promote their products and message so ARAN often relies on quirky stunts, nudity and gimmicks in order to attract the media’s attention. Everytime we coordinate these demonstration we are aware that the message could possibly get lots of even watered down but judging from the huge amount of success we have we no this simply is not the case. Our demos have proven themselves over and over again. From meat tray demos where our activists have posed ‘dead’ whilst nude and coverage in ‘blood’ to girls wearing little more than fake scars and chains to protest circus cruelty, the media continue to ask us why? It then gives us the perfect opportunity to turn the entire interview into a reality and discuss how these animals are suffering. Our nude campaigns and our eye catching stunts continue to give us often full page coverage on cruelty to animals, tons of interviews on the airwaves and our demos have often resulted in TV stations covering our campaigns and showing the cruelty of undercover investigations, so next time you hear about ARAN’s nude protest or quirky gimmick, please realize we have a message that we want hear loud and clear. So far this year Animal Rights Action Network’s work for animals has resulted in coverage on every single broadsheet newspaper, national radio station, several local newspapers and radio stations in many other cities and on various magazines and internet website thus directing many people to the animal’s plight.
ARAN LODGES PLANNING PERMISSON OBJECTION TO NEW GREYHOUND RACE TRACK IN LIMERICK CITY
Although at one stage we were confident that the submissions to Clare Country Council and Limerick County Council would go ahead the first plans to build a stadium in Limerick were defeated for a variety of different reasons, but recently news broke that a new greyhound stadium is to be built in Limerick city on the Greenpark Race Course. Animal Rights Action Network upon hearing this news immediately began working on lodging objections to the planning permission on a variety of different grounds. We also exposed the cruelty of greyhound racing in the local media in Limerick city highlighting the cruelty and we circulated an information leaflet we specifically printed up in local neighborhoods highlighting them of the cruelty in greyhound racing and how they can make a difference by speaking out against the new stadium and cruelty to animals in general, more news to come on this.
NEW CIRCUS MOTION BILLS TO BAN ANIMAL ACT CIRCUSES LAUNCHED IN NEW CITY’S ACROSS IRELAND
ARAN recently thanked Socialist Party councilor Clare Daly for putting through a motion in Fingal County Council to ban animal act circuses coming onto their land. Thankfully it seems to be successful although we are still waiting to hear as to when this ban will go ahead. Now Animal Rights Action Network is working in two other cities to help promote similar motions to ban animal act circuses coming into these cities, it’s all part of Animal Rights Action Network joint campaign with Animal Defenders International called ‘Stop Circus Suffering in Ireland’ which continues to expose the cruelty inside of Irish circuses. Animal Rights Action Network is the only Irish animal rights group that is coordinating various campaign events in different Irish cities, but the success of this campaign is real, people across the country are now aware of the cruelty inside the circus. In 2008 Animal Rights Action Network
Will be organizing lots more local actions, protests and other campaign initiatives, contact us to get involved with our campaign. Animal Rights Action Network was recently on Matt Cooper’s Last word on Today FM talking about our circus cruelty campaign, it generated huge interest in our campaign and flooded our office with letters and emails from listeners.
ARAN’S GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COORDINATOR FEATURED IN IRISH TIMES
Many of you will be familiar with a dedicated ARAN supporter and volunteer Celine O Donovan who works on ARAN’s political affairs and she also is heavily involved with the Greenparty and who was responsible for drafting up the Greenparty animal welfare bill. Recently Animal Rights Action Network’s work was highlighted in a feature in the Irish Times when they interviewed Celine to hear about her work with ARAN and the Greenparty. The coverage resulted in many readers contacting us to offer their kind help and support along with congratulating Celine on her tremendous dedicated work to help us stamp out cruelty to animals. Celine is based in Cork and is active in highlighting our work to stop cruelty, if you are based in Cork city and would like to do more then please get in touch with us here at Animal Rights Action Network and we can put you in touch with Celine to offer your help and support.
ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTION NETWORK VOLUNTEERS MAKING A DIFFERNCE ACROSS IRELAND
Our work would never be effective without the wonderful army of support we receive from literally hundreds of people across Ireland. Our members are our single biggest reason our work is effective. Animal Rights Action Network members donate money to be used to support our campaigns, our members also respond to our urgent action alert appeals to write letters, emails and make phone calls on urgent cruelty to animal’s issue, they write letters to the media attend protests and organize information stalls in their own hometowns.
That’s why Animal Rights Action Network needs your help and support today. Although we do respect that our members have various levels of different support, it’s your support that is needed. If you can help organize an information stand in your town or local lobbying the Animal Rights Action Network needs to hear from you. In every e-news we take time to recognize a special group of people who are doing more for animals, we are afraid we can only include 20 mentions at any one time so if we left you out don’t worry you’ll be included in the next mailing.
BLINDFOLDED ACTIVISTS FROM ARAN PROTEST FUR FARMING
Up to 60 supporters recently attended a ‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’ protest outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin to mark the start of our national campaign. Up to 60 supporters coming from Limerick, Clare, Galway, Sligo, Mayo, Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Waterford gathered outside the department with a huge banner reading ‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland Now!’ others held placards with a picture of a fox’s face with the tagline ‘Your Fur Had A Face’. The supporters were also joined by another ARAN member holding a body screen TV showing live footage of a recent investigation into fur farming in China where no animal welfare laws exist, the footage was heartbreaking but made people who seeing the footage more eager to double their efforts to stop this animal suffering. Six Animal Rights Action Network volunteers also posed for photographers wearing blindfolds whilst holding signs reading ‘Minister Mary Coughlan: Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’.
Animal Rights Action Network’s event sparked a national media blitz across Ireland with a dozen photographers attending to take shots of our campaign protest which led to national media exposure on most of Ireland’s top newspapers. Irish radio stations also covered the story with news of our protest being highlighted on a dozen radio stations across the country including Matt Coopers Lastword on Today FM. We also done radio interviews in Donegal and the media up there are all supportive of our campaign and have also covered our campaign with positive news coverage again reaching Mary Coughlan’s constituents. Thankfully the Irish media have being very favorable of ARAN’s campaign running nothing but POSITIVE coverage of our campaign to stop cruelty to animals on fur farms which is helping to direct countless people to the plight of innocent fur bearing animals. RTE television also sent a camera crew which featured footage of our protest outside the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday evening’s news slots.
ARAN would like to take this special opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to our friends at CIWF Ireland and their fantastic director Maryanne Bartlett who was in attendance with her supporters including two man size ‘fox’s’. ARAN also wants to say THANK YOU to our friends at the ISPCA with their national general manager Mark Beasley and his colleague coming along to support our campaign protest which was as I am sure everyone will agree a brilliant peaceful, friendly and professional well organized campaign event.
Over the next few weeks Animal Rights Action Network will need your support to help us ‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’, so please stay informed on how you can make sure these cruel farms are consigned to the dustbin of history and let us know how you can help ARAN’s campaign by replying to this email.
Again, Animal Rights Action Network would also like to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who turned up to support our peaceful event today, it’s because of caring people like you these events are always hugely successful.
We’d also like to thank the following members for their ongoing support of Animal Rights Action Network
1. Thanks to Debbie
Connolly for setting up a library information stand in Mayo
2. Clare Sinnott in Kinnegad for her leafleting on the circus and fur
farms and her support for a new local Animal Rights Action Network support
group.
3. Sharon Mcnulty of the Monghan SPCA for their work on our Stop Circus
Suffering in Ireland campaign.
4. Northwest Wexford SPCA for their support of Animal Rights Action Network’s
Rally Against the Cruelty 2008.
5. Galway SPCA for their ongoing help and support with nearly all of our
work to stop cruelty to animals.
6. Clare Animal Welfare with their kind support and commitment to our
‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’ campaign.
7. We’d like to say the best of luck to Animal Rights Action Network
supporter Ailbhe Doody who written a thesis on animal rights and who is
traveling to Indonesia to help support local work to save the orangutans.
8. A thank you to member Anna Sabrina Friedrich who was heavily involved
with ARAN’s protests in Dublin, Anna is now returning home to Germany
but will first travel to other coutries before doing so.
9. Fairwell to Nadja Kutcher who was active with Animal Rights Action
Network in Belfast. Nadja has also returned back home to Germany, she
will also be missed.
10. Thank you to longtime ARAN member Anna Sisk for her ongoing support
to our campaigns. Anna has being another member who will help in any way
she can and is a regular letter writing to companies, governments and
others who hurt and abuse animals, thanks Anna!
11. Thanks to ARAN Limerick based member Shane Kiely who continues to
promote our Stop Circus Suffering in Ireland and anti-fur campaigns in
Limerick city. Shane’s work has resulted in two fashion boutiques
in Limerick city going fur free.
12. Way to go for Nicola Clarke and others in Northern Ireland who continue
to support Animal Rights Action Network’s work. Nicola also organizes
regular information stands in Belfast.
13. Thank you to two superb ARAN members based in Dublin Kelly Cummins
and Eimear Byrne who are promoting ARAN’s ‘Ban Fur Farming in
Ireland’ campaign in their school along with organizing a fundraiser
to help our campaign.
14. Great work to Jean Delaney and Michael Thomas who support our campaign
work in Waterford. Both are active in promoting SNIP with local vet surgeries
and will be active in a new Stop Circus Suffering in Ireland campaign
tour.
15. Thanks to Geraldine Flynn who is now helping our work in Mayo.
16. Great work as always to Steve and Diane based in Sligo with their
ongoing help and support in various ways to Animal Rights Action Network.
17. Thank you to member Nicola Heart based in Limerick who promotes our
work at her local dog grooming parlor.
18. Thank you to Jessica Bourke, Melissa Kelly, Eileen Cunningham, Gerard
Healy, David Bourke, Samantha Higgins, Marlena Dovorski and more for their
help and support with our Stop Circus Suffering in Ireland campaign in
Wexford.
19. Thanks to our local supporters in Galway who promote our Stop Circus
Suffering in Ireland campaign.
20. Thank you to Dublin members Patricia & Barry Cassidy for their
work on our ‘Ban Fur Farming in Ireland’ leaflet.
21. Good work to Dublin member Nicole Fagan for helping to promote ARAN’s
work in her school.
***************************************************
END POUND SEIZURE IN MICHIGAN & UTAH
Pound
seizure us the sale of cats and dogs from a pound or shelter to research
labs. Only 2 states, Minnesota & Utah, still have laws requiring
that publicly funded pounds turn over unclaimed animals for research.
PLEASE...visit these sites to see how to help. IF YOU LIVE IN MICHIGAN
OR UTAH WRITE YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES !!!
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/animal-research/article-344
http://www.banpoundseizure.org
http://www.community.hsus.org/camp
Visit Helping Animals at: http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/groups/group/show?id=658300%3AGroup%3A128
***************************************************
GSPCA call on Ulick Burke, TD not to support animal cruelty
The GSPCA today call on the people of Galway city and county to lodge a protest to Ulick Burke, TD (FG, Galway East): over his backing of animal cruelty in the form of blood sports which are barbaric and cruel. The majority of the people he represents are opposed to hunting and we ask that they lodge a complaint to him.
Home Address:
Eagle Hill,
Abbey,
Loughrea,
Co. Galway
Home Phone: 09097-45218
Leinster House:
Tel: 01 618 3387
Fax: 01 618 4609
Constituency Office Address:
Barrack Street,
Loughrea,
Co. Galway.
Tel: 091 847437
Fax: 091 847438
Advice Centre: Monday, Wednesday and Friday Barrack Street Loughrea Co.
Galway
Website: http://www.ulickburke.finegael.i.e.
E-mail: Ulick.Burke@finegael.ie
***************************************************
Media Blitz for ARAN's Ban Fur Farming in Ireland Event
Dear
ARAN Members & Supporters,
With just days to go before ARAN launches our 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'
campaign, we organized a peaceful protest outside the Department of Agriculture
to urge Minister Mary Coughlan to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland without
delay.
Up to 60 supporters coming from Limerick, Clare, Galway, Sligo, Mayo,
Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Waterford gathered outside the department
with a huge banner reading 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland Now!' others held
placards with a picture of a fox's face with the tagline 'Your Fur Had
A Face'. The supporters were also joined by another ARAN member holding
a body screen TV
showing live footage of a recent investigation into fur farming in China
where no animal welfare laws exist, the footage was heartbreaking but
made people who seeing the footage more eager to double their efforts
to stop this animal suffering. Six Animal Rights Action Network volunteers
also posed for photographers wearing blindfolds whilst holding signs reading
'Minister Mary Coughlan: Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'.
Animal Rights Action Network's event sparked a national media blitz across
Ireland with a dozen photographers attending to take shots of our campaign
protest which led to national media exposure on all of Ireland's top newspapers.
Irish radio stations also covered the story with news of our protest being
highlighted on a dozen radio stations across the country. We also done
radio interviews in Donegal and the media up there are all supportive
of our campaign and have also covered our campaign with positive news
coverage again reaching Mary Coughlan's constituents. Thankfully the Irish
media have being very favorable of ARAN's campaign running nothing but
POSITIVE coverage of our campaign to stop cruelty to animals on fur farms
which is helping to direct countless people to the plight of innocent
fur bearing animals. RTE television also sent a camera crew which featured
footage of our protest outside the Department of Agriculture on Wednesday
evenings news slots.
ARAN would like to take this special opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU
to our friends at CIWF Ireland and their fantastic director Maryanne Bartlett
who was in attendance with her supporters including two man size 'fox's'.
ARAN also wants to say THANK YOU to our friends at the ISPCA with their
national general manager Mark Beasley and his colleague coming along to
support our campaign protest which was as I am sure everyone will agree
a brilliant peaceful, friendly and professional well organized campaign
event.
Over the next few weeks Animal Rights Action Network will need your support
to help us 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland', so please stay informed on how
you can make sure these cruel farms are consigned to the dustbin of history
and let us know how you can help ARAN's campaign by replying to this email.
Again, Animal Rights Action Network would also like to say a special THANK
YOU to everyone who turned up to support our peaceful event today, it's
because of caring people like you these events are always hugely successful.
Many thanks and keep active,
John Carmody
Ps, enjoy the attached pictures!
John Carmody | Campaigns Coordinator | Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
120 Vale Avenue | Carew Park | Limerick | Ireland
Tel: 087-6275579 | Intl' +353-87-6275579 | Email: arancampaigns@eircom.net
Website: www.ARAN.ie
"Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland"
PAGE
INDEX
***************************************************
Justice for Leyroy and Lacey, please sign this petition
I recently lost 2 family members, a male and a female 15 month old brittney mix puppies that we raised since birth. My ex-husband came home (we were living together at the time) and shot them.....no reason except the fact that he was drunk and states he didn't have enough time in the day. We were asleep in bed when the first shot was fired, I was running down the hallway to go outside when my 8 year old son met me screaming daddy is killing my dogs mommy make him stop! We witnessed their agonizing death and could do nothing. I contacted the local sheriff's office and they have not filed any charges against him. My puppies were on runners and had no chance at survival. My heart has broken in a million pieces on a daily basis every day since. My son is in counseling and I am on medication just to go on daily. It disgusts me the violence that humans invoke on such beautiful loving creatures of God. Help put an end to this......it has been the worst experience of my life.
We the
undersigned are filing this petition on behalf of Andrea Miley who lost
2 of her family pets at the hands of her ex-husband. We are seeking justice
for Andrea's family. These dogs were brutally killed by gunshot on the
night of November 13, 2007 a little after 9pm. Please help us help this
family by signing your name. This petition will help show the concern
the mankind has for the human treatment of animals.
signature
"Justice
for Leroy and Lacey" petition at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com
Jennifer
Garrison
State Representative
93rd House District
Monroe, Noble, Guernsey and Parts of Washington and Muskingum Counties
District Office
427 5th Street
Marietta OH 45750
Capitol Office
Riffe Center
10th Floor
77 South High Street
Columbus Ohio 43215-6111
Toll free: (800) 282-0253
Telephone: (614) 644-8728
E-mail: District93@ohr.state.oh.us
***************************************************
GSPCA
call on Pope, Mexician Cardinals, Bishops and Catholic Church
to Ban Animal Cruelty in Church Rites
Each
year on 1st February, six bulls are tortured and killed during the "Fiesta
de la Virgen de la Candelaria" in the Mexican town of
Tlacotalpan. The terrified animals are roped and dragged through a river
by men in boats before being mercilessly chased through the streets.
Please register your
disgust at this event. Lodge a complaint with UNESCO (Tlacotalpan is a
UNESCO World Heritage site) as well as with the
local authorities and international tourism bodies promoting Mexico. Your
letter can make a difference - please take a few moments to send a message
to the following addresses:
dl.mexique@unesco.org, mexico@unesco.org,mt.baz@unesco.org, felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx,
fidelherrera@veracruz-llave.gob.mx, info@tlaco.com.mx, ofe_montalvo@hotmail.com, tlaco2005_2007@hotmail.com,
contacto@sagarpa.gob.mx, alberto.cardenas@sagarpa.gob.mx, portal_vrz@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx, delegado@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx,
c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx, delegado@veracruz.semarnat.gob.mx, embamex@embamex.or.at,
mision@embamex.or.at, icm@embamex.or.at, info@embamexcan.com, prensafrancia@sre.gob.mx,
mail@embamexale.de, embamex@embamex-nl.com, embamex1@swissonline.ch, mexuk@easynet.co.uk,
culturalgb@sre.gob.mx, relizondo@sectur.gob.mx, flopez@promotur.com.mx, sgonzalez@promotur.com,
relacionespublicas@promotur.com.mx, northamericanpress@visitmexico.com, uk@visitmexico.com,
contacteurope@visitmexico.com, germany@visitmexico.com, france@visitmexico.com,
otmex@wanadoo.fr, italy@visitmexico.com, spain@visitmexico.com, argentina@visitmexico.com,
brasil@visitmexico.com, cptmtokio@hotmail.com, cptmbeijing@gmail.com, echaillo@visitmexico.com,
veronica.querejazu@newlinkcorp.com, hguerrero@visitmexico.com, marisol.hernandez@newlinkcorp.com,
houston@visitmexico.com, sandra.munoz@newlinkcorp.com, mmora@visitmexico.com,
gustavo.rivas@newlinkcorp.com, miami@visitmexico.com, yusfia.jimenez@newlinkcorp.com,
montreal@visitmexico.com, toronto@visitmexico.com,dgutierrez@visitmexico.com,
arzobispado@arzobispadomexico.org.mx
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am thoroughly sad and disgusted to learn that an event involving cruelty to bulls continues to take place in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Tlacotalpan. Please act to ensure that this "Embalse De Toros" event is prevented from going ahead during the 2008 "Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria".
Millions of people in Mexico, the USA, Europe and all around the world are opposed to animal cruelty. We are all hoping that Tlacotalpan will show compassion and save the bulls from this horror.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Name/Location
***************************************************
Animal
Voice - January 2008
Campaign newsletter of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports
______________________________________
Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS)
PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland
Website: www.banbloodsports.com
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
01. Protest against hare coursing - February 6th
02. ICABS presents arguments for foxhunt ban: Irish Times
03. New ICABS Badges
04. Letters to the Editors
05. Galway TD "only ever got one letter
pro hunting"
06. Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
07. Hotel website asked to stop publicising foxhunting
08. Limerick landowners reminded of anti-hunt rights
09. Ward Union petition reflects lack of support for hunt
10. Calling all Donegal supporters
11. Hunters run scared of Late Late Show
12. New website - Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass
13. Lodge complaint against cruel Mexican bull event
14. Campaign Quotes
15. 2008 Biodiversity Fund now inviting applications
______________________________________
01. Protest against hare coursing - February 6th
______________________________________
Please join us for a protest against hare coursing which will take place
on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 from 12 noon to 2 pm.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is one of the groups from all around
Ireland who will be represented at this peaceful demonstration
outside the coursing finals venue - Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Show you care about the thousands of Irish Hares snatched from the countryside
every year, crammed into boxes, kept captive in coursing
fields for months and eventually forced to run for their lives in front
of greyhounds. Watch our campaign video at www.youtube.com/icabs to see
the fatal maulings suffered by these fragile creatures during coursing
meetings.
"Ban Hare Coursing" Protest Details:
Outside Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
12 noon to 2 pm
(Be there for the hares. Please bring placards if possible)
For driving directions, please visit maps.yahoo.net
If you are willing to car-share (or if you require a lift), please let
us know and we will endeavour to put you in touch with others in your
area.
______________________________________
02. ICABS presents arguments for foxhunt ban: Irish Times
______________________________________
In an opinion piece in the Irish Times this week, the Irish Council Against
Blood Sports has presented the arguments in favour of a ban on
foxhunting.
Should the Government ban fox-hunting? YES:
Philip Kiernan says Ireland's image as a decent and compassionate nation
is tarnished by a cruel pursuit.
The tranquillity of the countryside is shattered as a fox squeals out
in agony. The blood-curdling cry signals the end to another hunt outing
as
a panting fox with bulging eyes is knocked off its feet and eviscerated.
The frenzied hounds are fervently urged on by a cacophony of hunting
horns and hollering.
It's this merciless animal abuse that underlines the majority view in
Ireland that fox-hunting is cruel and needs to be banned. It's the
reason the Government must bring foxes to the fore in its update of our
archaic animal welfare legislation.
The suffering is unrelenting in fox-hunting. As the chase gets under way
and the hunters and hounds lock on to their target, the fox's desperate
dash sends stress levels rocketing. The physiological effects, research
has shown, include haemorrhage of the heart and lungs, congestion of the
kidneys and a breakdown of muscle tissue, often followed by brain damage.
Far from displaying empathy, hunts boast about how they push foxes beyond
the limits of endurance. One proclaimed that a fox was persecuted for
three hours and 10 minutes while another described "pushing a fox
for 50 minutes in terrible driving rain before catching it". There
is more than a hint of satisfaction in the hunting reports that tell of
the fox crushed under the wheels of a car or the vixen drowning in a slurry
pit with hounds blocking her exit.
Foxes that manage to find refuge during a chase are only temporarily safe.
The terrier work and digging-out occur when the depleted fox can
do nothing but stumble down a hole in the earth. What happens next must
be one of the worst imaginable acts of cruelty. A terrier is unleashed
and viciously bites and claws the cowering creature into a corner. From
above, hunters use shovels to uncover their severely wounded prize.
That an assault on Ireland's favourite mammal is carried out for entertainment
makes fox-hunting especially despicable. Hunting apologists try to dilute
the disgust with claims that they're eliminating a menace to farmers.
However, the idea of the fox as an agricultural threat has long been dispelled.
Both the Department of Agriculture and the National Parks and Wildlife
Service concur, for example, that foxes play no significant role, if any,
in lamb mortality. Eminent ecologists agree that this fascinating, social
animal is the victim of smear tactics. And increasing numbers of farmers
are coming to realise that it's the hunters, not the foxes, that are the
real culprits.
One hunter admitted in the national media that hunts "gallop like
cavalries over rain-sodden fields" and leave them "looking like
venues
of epic battles". Familiar devastation to farmers. Surveying their
scattered livestock, broken boundaries and pockmarked pastures, they are
pushing an equally pressing reason to ban fox-hunting. With bio-security
a priority, and blinkered hunts apathetic about the spread of disease,
landowners are demanding drag hunting as a compromise.
This humane alternative involves the pursuit of an artificially laid scent
across land where the "hunters" have permission to be. Not only
is
it acceptable to farmers but it promises huge rewards for the Irish horse
industry. A welcome outlet is created for the thousands who enjoy
cross-country equestrianism but shun blood sports.
Suggestions that a ban would lead to job losses and the industry's collapse
are completely unfounded. The outcome is much more likely to be
the opposite. The benefits a ban brings were recently recounted by a Midlands
horse dealer. "Although the introduction of the UK hunting ban
was heralded by many as the end to the Irish hunter trade, its 'bad' effect
went virtually unnoticed," he said. "We never had a better trade
than when they brought in the ban." In a last-ditch attempt to gain
a modicum of sympathy and delay the dawn of drag hunting, hunters lament
that you can't teach old dogs new tricks, that a ban will necessitate
the mass destruction of defunct hounds. It's a view unequivocally
contradicted by a spokesperson for the UK's Council of Hunting Associations.
Although disparaging "the chasing of old socks soaked in
essence of fox" as "the uncomfortable in pursuit of the undignified",
he concedes that drag hunting does indeed accommodate foxhounds, pointing
out that "people who really know how to handle hounds are able to
train them to do most things".
For the animals that suffer, for the majority who want an end to blood
sports, for Ireland's image as a decent and compassionate nation,
fox-hunting must finally be banned.
Arguing against a ban on foxhunting in Ireland was British MP, Kate Hoey,
who is also chairwoman of pro-hunt group, Countryside Alliance.
Ms Hoey claimed that there "has never been any evidence to justify
a ban in terms of animal welfare" but went on to quote an extract
from the
Burns report that hunting "seriously compromises the welfare of the
fox". This, she commented "should be no surprise since the point
of the
activity is to kill them".
To read the debate and vote in the online poll, visit http://www.ireland.com/head2head
______________________________________
03. New ICABS Badges
______________________________________
Show your support for the campaign against blood sports. Purchase one
of the new ICABS badges today and help raise funds for our campaign against
animal cruelty in Ireland. Displaying our banbloodsports.com website address,
these cool red 28mm badges cost just 1 Euro each (including postage and
packaging to anywhere in the world).
To order, simply send payment to ICABS at the usual address - ICABS, PO
Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. You may also order by credit
card (or paypal) - visit www.banbloodsports.com and click on the badge
image on our homepage for more details.
______________________________________
04. Letters to the Editors
______________________________________
Greens are not the 'callous' ones by Aideen Yourell, Irish Council Against
Blood Sports Irish Independent - January 29 2008
Mr John Condren from Co Laois (Letters, January 22), accuses the Green
Party of being "ignorant and callous" because a deer is "at
large in the Meath countryside" since a hunt on St Stephen's Day,
"distressed at his separation from his herd and posing a threat to
motorists and
walkers...also risking injury to himself or others."
I couldn't agree more with Mr Condren that a vulnerable animal, normally
resident on a farm with other deer, being abandoned in the countryside
is cruel. But Mr Condren quite wrongly lays the blame on Minister John
Gormley's restricted licence for the Ward Union deer hunt, whereby the
hounds may not be set upon the stag, which may be released into the countryside
to create a scent to be followed in the manner of a drag
hunt.
The Ward Union, not being allowed to do their usual thing and chase the
deer around the countryside for so-called "sport" and "kicks"
have,
thankfully, given up on their abusive activity because it's just no fun
any more.
Mr Condren might be very interested to know that, long before the restricted
licence, deer being left out after hunts was quite common.
For example, according to documents obtained by this organisation under
the Freedom of Information Act, it was revealed that out of 38 deer
hunted during 2006-07, 15 deer were still at large in July 2007.
Furthermore, it was reported that a deer had drowned in a quarry during
the same season.
So, the gentleman is pointing the finger of blame in the wrong direction.
It is, in fact, the Ward Union hunt that has for far too long
been permitted to behave in an "ignorant and callous" manner
towards deer.
Mr Gormley and the Greens are to be wholly commended for their compassionate
stance on animal welfare issues.
Stop bizarre deer hunting 'sport' by Aideen Yourell, Irish Council Against
Blood Sports Sunday Independent, January 06, 2008
Sir -- It seems that the cavalry of the Ward Union, headed up by Michael
Bailey, weren't able to whoop it up on St Stephen's Day when they
couldn't hound a deer around the countryside for "sport", after
Environment Minister John Gormley issued a restricted licence, which
stipulates that deer must not be hunted by hounds (Sunday Independent,
December 30).
For over 100 years now, this hunt, twice-weekly from November to March,
has been subjecting tame deer to a distressing ordeal, leaving them
exhausted, often injured and at risk of dying of heart failure, despite
claims from one of their supporters that she had never seen a hunted
deer injured.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, incidents of cruelty have been documented,
such as deer dying of aneurisms; a deer choked on capture; a deer drowned
in a quarry; a deer sustaining fractured ribs and dying; a deer hanging
by its front leg on barbed wire; and lameness in deer
following hunts. These, we believe, are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has always contended that this
hunt should never have been licensed and this has now been borne out by
Professors William Binchy and Clive Symmons of Trinity School of Law in
a recently published legal opinion which concludes that the Ward Union
hunt is "illegal" under the 1911 Protection of Animals Act,
and that it shouldn't be licensed under the 1976 Wildlife Act.
The Ward Union should now call it a day on their bizarre, outdated and
abusive deer hunt, and switch to drag hunting, which is cruelty-free.
For more letters on this issue, visit http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/stop-bizarre-deer-hunting-sport-1258768.html
______________________________________
05. Galway TD "only ever got one letter pro hunting"
______________________________________
Galway East TD, Noel Treacy, has revealed
that when he held responsibility for the wildlife service, he received
only a single
letter in support of hunting.
The pro-blood sports former Minister of State made the revelation at a
hunt meeting held this month in Ballinasloe's Carlton Shearwater Hotel.
Quoted in the Galway Independent of 23 January 2008, the Fianna Fail representative
suggested that the biggest threat to hunting was
complacency. "When I was in charge of the Wildlife Service,"
he announced, "I got constant letters from ICABS to ban hunting and
in all
my time there only ever got one letter pro hunting."
In December, ICABS revealed how Deputy Treacy was one of the few politicians
who spoke in favour of the Ward Union deer hunt, despite
majority opposition to the activity. The Galway SPCA criticised him for
his stance on the issue and has urged locals to lodge complaints with
his office.
Noel Treacy may believe that his receipt of just one pro-hunt letter indicates
complacency on the part of the hunters but ICABS sees it as
another indication of the low level of support for blood sports in Ireland.
Successive opinion polls have shown that a majority want
activities involving animal cruelty banned. Around two out of every three
people, for example, want foxhunting and hare coursing made
illegal.
A C T I O N A L E R T
Remind Deputy Noel Treacy that a majority of Irish people, (including,
presumably, a majority of the Galway electorate) want blood sports
banned. Ask him to stop standing up for animal cruelty which results in
wildlife enduring unimaginable suffering and the most horrific of
deaths.
Noel Treacy, TD
Cross Street
Athenry
Co. Galway
Email: noel.treacy@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 091-844360
Fax: 091-844360
______________________________________
06. Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
______________________________________
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 -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkgDFdcEQo.
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.
Watch the ICABS Campaign Video: Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkgDFdcEQo
(Duration: 53 seconds)
Display the 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=1"></param><param
name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed
src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NFkgDFdcEQo&rel=1"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"
width="425"
height="355"></embed></object>
U R G E N T A C T I O N A L E R T
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 foxhunts
to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the
appalling cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish
people want it 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]
______________________________________
07. Hotel website asked to stop publicising foxhunting
______________________________________
Hotel reservations website, CentralR, has been asked by ICABS to stop
publicising foxhunting on its website.
In an entry for a Carlton Shearwater Hotel, the website mentions foxhunting
as one of the local "leisure pursuits" -
http://www.centralr.com/Carlton_Shearwater_Hotel.html
ICABS has provided CentralR with photos showing the barbarity of foxhunting
and informed them that 70 per cent of Irish people view
foxhunting as cruel, with a majority wanting the activity banned.
"We believe that most of the visitors to your site would find the
publicisation of foxhunting to be offensive," we stated. "We
hope that
you can consider excluding the reference to foxhunting from your site."
A C T I O N A L E R T S
1. Please join us in asking CentralR to exclude the reference to cruel
foxhunting from their site.
CentralR Headquarters:
2nd Floor Quantum House,
52 Temple Road,
Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
Email: info@CentralR.com
Tel: +353 (0) 1 764 2500
Fax: +353 (0) 1 633 5445
2. Write to Carlton Shearwater and ask them to act to ensure that foxhunting
is not mentioned in relation to their hotel
Dermot Birchall
General Manager
Carlton Shearwater Hotel
Marina Point
Ballinasloe
Co. Galway
Email: dbirchall@carlton.ie
Tel: 0909 630400
______________________________________
08. Limerick landowners reminded of anti-hunt rights
______________________________________
In a letter to the editor published in the Limerick Leader this month,
ICABS has reminded landowners about their rights in relation to
trespassing hunts. Local farmers were told that if hunters and their hounds
didn't receive permission to come on to land, "they have
absolutely no right to be there." The full text of the letter appears
below.
Hunts on the land - Limerick Leader
Further to the "Gardai probe shooting incident" report in Limerick
Leader recently, may we have the opportunity to remind local landowners
of their rights in relation to keeping hunts off their property?
Unless hunters hold sporting rights to hunt on your property (this is
not usually the case but if so, it will be specified on the title
deeds), neither they nor their dogs have a right to access your property.
Under the Control of Dogs Act, dogs must be kept "under effectual
control" so if hunt hounds come on to land where they do not have
permission to be, the recommended action to take is to immediately report
the offence to the Gardai.
Photos and video footage should be presented as evidence where possible.
Sometimes hunts will say something like "we go where the dogs go"
or "we didn't know we weren't allowed to enter your property"
but this is not
acceptable. If they didn't receive permission to enter the property, they
and their dogs have absolutely no right to be there. (Letters to
the Editor - 17 January 2008, Philip Kiernan, Irish Council Against Blood
Sports)
Video: Landowners and hunts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKZV6ltebZ0
(Duration: 03:36 minutes)
A C T I O N A L E R T 1
If you are a landowner, immediately make your land off limits to all hunts.
If you have friends who are landowners, please tell them that
they can make a difference by making their land a haven for wildlife.
Please click on Farmers at www.banbloodsports.com to read our Troubled
by the Hunt Leaflet and download a "No Hunting" sign to display
around the boundaries of your property. Thank you.
A C T I O N A L E R T 2
Urge the Minister for Agriculture to amend the Protection of Animals Act
so that foxes, hares, mink and all wild creatures are protected from
unnecessary cruelty.
Minister Mary Coughlan
Department of Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: mary.coughlan@oireachtas.irlgov.ie
Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01-661 1013.
Dear Minister Coughlan,
I am writing to implore you to act to ban foxhunting and all blood sports
in Ireland.
Minister, foxhunting is cruel from beginning to end. The foxes suffer
great stress and damage to internal organs during the gruelling
cross-county chases. When they try to escape underground, terriers are
sent after them to viciously attack them and drag them out into the
open. The squealing, injured and terrified foxes are then mercilessly
killed by a hunt terriermen. Other foxes will die a despicable death as
they try to evade capture - they are violently knocked off their feet
by the pack of hounds and eviscerated.
Minister, I appeal to your sense of compassion to urgently intervene to
save the fox from this barbarism. No living creature deserves the fate
of foxes in foxhunting. The fox is one of Ireland's favourite wild creatures
and is beneficial to farming interests by keeping down the
numbers of mice, rats and rabbits which form part of its natural diet.
I implore you to amend the Protection of Animals Act so that foxes, hares,
mink and all wild creatures are protected from unnecessary
cruelty.
Thank you. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
A C T I O N A L E R T 3
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 an artificial lure instead of a live
animal. 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.
We desperately need your help to convince the government that it is time
to ban foxhunting. Please write to all of your local politicians and ask
them to express their opposition to this blood sport.
If possible, get your friends, family and workmates to contact them too.
We need as much help with this campaign as possible.
Write to your TD at:
Dail Eireann, 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 the Irish
Government Website at http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist.
______________________________________
09. Ward Union petition reflects lack of support for hunt
______________________________________
A petition set up to "Save The Ward Union Stag Hunt" has received
the support of just 231 people - that's less than 2 out every 1,000 people
living in Meath.
The online petition asks readers to give their backing to the cruel hunt
which, it claims, has "an enormous following in their hunting country
of
North Co. Dublin and Co. Meath".
The lack of support for the petition reflects the overwhelming feeling
in County Meath that the Ward Union should be banned outright. In
December, Minister John Gormley re-issued a licence to the hunt but attached
several conditions to it, one of which brought to an end the
chasing of deer with hounds. However, the hunt continues to be permitted
to release a deer and force it to run across the countryside before hunt
members forcefully re-capture it. ICABS has continually pointed out that
since the deer are captive-bred, domesticated creatures they are
entitled to protection under the Protection of Animals Act. This was verified
in a recent Irish Law Times report by Professors Clive Symmons
and William Binchy of Trinity School of Law.
Not only has the Ward Union petition been signed by just a handful of
people but some individuals have signed it more than once in an effort
to boost apparent support for the blood sport. ICABS can reveal that sixteen
people have signed it twice and one person has signed three
times! A further 26 signatures are listed as Anonymous.
The petition is a further indication that the Ward Union has very little
support in the areas they operate. According to a poll carried out by
the Meath Post last November, nearly two thirds of residents in the Royal
County want the hunt stopped. This is in line with public
opposition to Ireland's other blood sports - foxhunting and hare coursing.
A C T I O N A L E R T
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and appeal to him to
take the deer entirely out of carted deer hunting. Explain to him that
instead of chasing the scent of an actual deer, the hunt should be told
to use an artificially laid draghunt scent.
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.)
Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Email: minister@environ.ie
Tel: 01 888 2403.
Fax: 01 878 8640.
Dear Minister Gormley,
While I welcome the restrictions placed on the Ward Union and the fact
that the deer will no longer be cruelly chased by a pack of hounds, I
am
concerned to learn that the deer will still be chased across the countryside
by hunt members and will still be put into a situation where
they are recaptured by hunters. There is great potential in both these
situations for the deer to suffer, sustain injuries and even die. There
is at least one documented case, for example, of a deer being choked to
death while being recaptured.
I understand that the licence you have issued is for a one year period.
I ask you to please make this the last year that the Ward Union deer are
chased and to insist that the hunters practise drag hunting instead.
Thank you, Minister.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Location]
______________________________________
10. Calling all Donegal supporters
______________________________________
If you are in County Donegal and would be interested in teaming up with
like-minded individuals in the area to raise awareness about blood
sports, please get in touch with us now. Simply email your name and contact
details (phone number, email address) to info@banbloodsports.com and we
will pass them on to others who respond.
Proposed peaceful activities include collecting petition signatures, letter
writing, distributing leaflets, liaising with local wildlife
rangers, political lobbying and raising awareness about the beauty of
wildlife in Donegal and the need to fully protect it. Thank you.
______________________________________
11. Hunters run scared of Late Late Show
______________________________________
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports was informed by the Late Late Show
on Thursday, 10th January, that a debate on hunting, scheduled for
the next night's show, had been axed because hunting representatives have
refused to take part. The reason for this eleventh hour back out by
the hunters was, we understand, that they objected to a representative
of the Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass Group being invited to
take part in the debate.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports spokesperson, Aideen Yourell, who
was also scheduled to participate, expressed "absolute amazement"
at the turn of events.
"By refusing to take part in the Late Late debate, the hunters have
now shown that they have a lot to hide, both in terms of the cruelty they
mete out to animals, and the annoyance they cause to farmers by routinely
trespassing and creating havoc on farmlands," Aideen Yourell
commented. "As well as running scared of the farmers' group, I believe
that their decision to pull out is due to a fear of their heinous
activities being exposed on prime time television, with video footage
of the cruelty possibly being shown. These people are the epitome of the
'schoolyard bully' - well able to dole out cruelty but terrified of the
exposure."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports feels it is a great pity that the
Late Late Show has axed this important discussion. We believe that they
could have gone ahead without the hunters and made it clear that they
refused to take part. We understand that the discussion will be
rescheduled in the coming weeks.
A C T I O N A L E R T
Contact the Late Late Show and urge them not to allow the hunters to stifle
a free discussion on the issues surrounding hunting. Remind the
Late Late Show that a majority of Irish people want blood sports banned
and that a major television expose of the cruelty and other related
issues is long overdue.
The Late Late Show
RTE 1, Donnybrook, Dublin 4
Email: latelate@rte.ie
Tel: 01 2083100
______________________________________
12. New website - Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass
______________________________________
Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass has launched a new website to
provide advice and support to the landowners around Ireland who continue
to be plagued by trespassing hunting groups. The site can be accessed
at www.myspace.com/farmersagainstfoxhunting
The FAFT leaflet advising farmers why they should prohibit hunts from
land is available to download from the site. The group is urging members
of the public to print a copy of the leaflet and hand out copies to all
their landowner friends and family members.
______________________________________
13. Lodge complaint against cruel Mexican bull event
______________________________________
(Source of information: M. Mench)
Each year on 1st February, six bulls are tortured and killed during the
"Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria" in the Mexican town of
Tlacotalpan. The terrified animals are roped and dragged through a river
by men in boats before being mercilessly chased through the streets.
Please register your disgust at this event. Lodge a complaint with UNESCO
(Tlacotalpan is a UNESCO World Heritage site) as well as with the
local authorities and international tourism bodies promoting Mexico. Your
letter can make a difference - please take a few moments to send a
message to the following addresses:
wh-info@unesco.org, F.Bandarin@unesco.org, A.Pedersen@unesco.org,
n.sanz@unesco.org,
dl.mexique@unesco.org, mexico@unesco.org, mt.baz@unesco.org,
felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx,
fidelherrera@veracruz-llave.gob.mx, info@tlaco.com.mx,
ofe_montalvo@hotmail.com,
tlaco2005_2007@hotmail.com,
contacto@sagarpa.gob.mx, alberto.cardenas@sagarpa.gob.mx,
portal_vrz@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx, delegado@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx,
c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx, delegado@veracruz.semarnat.gob.mx,
embamex@embamex.or.at,
mision@embamex.or.at,
icm@embamex.or.at,info@embamexcan.com,prensafrancia@sre.gob.mx,
mail@embamexale.de,
embamex@embamex-nl.com,
embamex1@swissonline.ch, mexuk@easynet.co.uk, culturalgb@sre.gob.mx,
relizondo@sectur.gob.mx,
flopez@promotur.com.mx, sgonzalez@promotur.com,
relacionespublicas@promotur.com.mx, northamericanpress@visitmexico.com,
uk@visitmexico.com, contacteurope@visitmexico.com,
germany@visitmexico.com, france@visitmexico.com, otmex@wanadoo.fr,
italy@visitmexico.com,
spain@visitmexico.com,
argentina@visitmexico.com, brasil@visitmexico.com,cptmtokio@hotmail.com,
cptmbeijing@gmail.com, echaillo@visitmexico.com,
veronica.querejazu@newlinkcorp.com, hguerrero@visitmexico.com,
marisol.hernandez@newlinkcorp.com, houston@visitmexico.com,
sandra.munoz@newlinkcorp.com,
mmora@visitmexico.com, gustavo.rivas@newlinkcorp.com,miami@visitmexico.com,
yusfia.jimenez@newlinkcorp.com,
montreal@visitmexico.com, toronto@visitmexico.com, dgutierrez@visitmexico.com,
arzobispado@arzobispadomexico.org.mx
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am thoroughly sad and disgusted to learn that an event involving cruelty
to bulls continues to take place in the UNESCO World Heritage
site of Tlacotalpan. Please act to ensure that this "Embalse De Toros"
event is prevented from going ahead during the 2008 "Fiesta de la
Virgen
de la Candelaria".
Millions of people in Mexico, the USA, Europe and all around the world
are opposed to animal cruelty. We are all hoping that Tlacotalpan will
show compassion and save the bulls from this horror.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Name/Location
______________________________________
14. Campaign Quotes
______________________________________
"This is not the first time that the hunters have put pressure on
the media to keep Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass off the air.
They
can't handle the truth. They can't hunt without farmers' lands, and we
don't want them. They're afraid of having this hot topic raised in the
media. By having this issue raised on the Late Late Show, they know that
many more farmers will find a voice, after years of persecution, and
give local hunts their walking papers." (Farmers Against Foxhunting
and Trespass chairman, Philip Lynch, on the news that the Late Late Show
hunting debate was not going ahead on January 11th)
"The grinch who stole Christmas for the [Ward Union] hunters is Environment
Minister John Gormley, my new hero, who took a step in the
right direction in relation to this heinous "sport" by issuing
the hunt with a restricted licence. This meant that instead of pursuing
a live
animal, the hunt had to follow the scent of a deer, who was to be recaptured
alive before the hounds were released." (The guilty in
pursuit of the innocent, Andrea Smith, Sunday Independent, January 13
2008)
"Three hounds of one of the world's most famous hunting packs were
shot dead in Crecora this Monday. Others were wounded by gunfire as the
pack of the County Limerick Foxhounds entered a farmer's land in pursuit
of a fox. The mounted hunt itself did not enter the property as it was
known that the landowner was averse to giving permission to the hunt to
traverse his fields." (Limerick Leader, 15 December 2007)
"A neighbour of the family involved in the incident in Crecora said
that the hunt should have known better than go near this farm. 'He has
a sign
up lands preserved, people know to stay away and he has sheep. I don't
know the full circumstances, but maybe he was justified. Maybe he
wasn't. But it is his land.'" (Limerick Leader, 15 December 2007)
"[Ward Union] Joint hunt master Michael Bailey is not just a millionaire:
he is a millionaire with extremely close links to Fianna
Fail. Each year he is a regular in the Soldiers of Destiny tent at the
Galway races. The party is unconcerned by corruption allegations made
against him at the Mahon Tribunal, or his 25 million euro settlement last
year to the Revenue Commissioners, paid along with his brother and
business partner Tom. Indeed, the very next day Tom Bailey was pictured
at the Leopardstown races with none other than An Taoiseach Bertie
Ahern." (Daily Mail, December 29th, 2007)
"The last thing hunting needs is to give Gormley and his friends
in ICABS the moral victory of converting the Ward Union to a drag hunt.
I
am not saying there is anything wrong with drag hunting. It is just a
different sport and for those who by choice hunt live quarry, we must
not bow to Gormley's and ICABS' wishes." (Brian Munn, spokesman for
the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association - from an online hunting
discussion, January 8th, 2008)
"Recent figures from the Department of Environment, Heritage and
Local Government show that over 24,000 dogs were abandoned in Ireland
in 2006, and twice as many dogs were put to sleep as were re-homed. Ireland
puts down dogs at a rate 10 times higher than in the UK, a country 10
times the size of Ireland. Additionally, two-thirds of all unwanted dogs
are put to sleep, most of them perfectly healthy because no one was
available or willing to adopt them." (Waterford Today, 2nd January
2008)
"The Taoiseach has asked me to pass on his best wishes to you."
(From an email to ICABS from the office of An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern
- 3rd
January 2008)
"First of all, although we are clearly against blood sports, that
does not include fishing. Minister Gormley is balanced in his approach
and is
trying to be fair. We are not just trying to killjoys and spoiling everybody's
fun but if animals are being chased around woods by people
and dogs for hours, then that is cruelty and we have to do something about
it. We have never been shy about that. But we are not against all
hunting, just against hurting animals." (Galway Green Party councillor
Niall O Brolchain defends Minister Gormley during a pro-hunt meeting in
Ballinasloe's Carlton Shearwater Hotel)
"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore
that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it
now.
Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again." - Stephen
Grellet (1773-1855)
______________________________________
15. 2008 Biodiversity Fund now inviting applications
______________________________________
The Heritage Council has published details of its Biodiversity Fund for
2008. The fund, established by the Minister for the Environment,
Heritage and Local Government, provides grants to support the conservation
and enhancement of Ireland's biodiversity. The Council says
that priority will be given to projects that assist the management of
sites which contain habitats of special conservation importance in
Ireland, or which support threatened or vulnerable species.
Individuals, properly constituted non-profit organisations, local authorities,
statutory institutions, academic institutions and private
companies are all eligible to apply to the fund for grant assistance.
Applications from local community groups are particularly welcome.
The closing dates for receipt of completed applications to the fund is
5pm on Friday 15 February 2008.
For more details and to download an application form, please visit http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/grants/index.html
______________________________________
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
______________________________________
Become a supporter of ICABS
______________________________________
Please become a supporter of ICABS. 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 "Donate" button. Thank you. Your support will allow us
to continue campaigning against blood sport cruelty in Ireland.
***************************************************
GSPCA say 'Stop animal testing'
Knowing how much you care about animals, the GSPCA thought that you'd be interested in learning more about how rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, and other animals are still subjected to cruel and outdated laboratory tests for cosmetics and household products. Visit CaringConsumer.com to find out what you can do to make a difference for these animals. The Web site provides lists of companies that do not test on animals, charities that do not fund animal research, monthly features, alerts, contests, and more! CaringConsumer.com has everything you need to make sure that you are cruelty-free from head to toe. Thanks to PETA for the use of this website.
***************************************************
The European Commission is considering a seal-product trade ban that would save millions of seals from a horrible fate. You can help convince the EU to end the cruel seal product trade now!
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_society_international_hsi/seal_trade_ban.html
|
Get
the Facts Before You Comment * Find out
why no seal hunt can be truly humane.
|
 |
|
Learn More * We have resources
and reports on seal hunting. |
 |
***************************************************
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Deadline: 13 February 2008
Sign
the Pledge!
Don't Buy While Seals Die: Boycott Canadian Seafood.
"I pledge not to buy seafood products produced in Canada—such as snow crabs, cod, scallops, and shrimp—until Canada ends its commercial seal hunt for good."
http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html
***************************************************
European Convention for Animals Rights
Dear Animal Lovers,
Please help with the treatment of animals in Europe by signing this petition.
http://www.romaniaanimalrescue.com/Europe.htm#petition
We will forward your signatures to Mr. Alain Hutchinson MEP.
I kindly request you to sign the petition.
Kind regards,
Linda Taal
Stichting ActieZwerfhonden
www.actiezwerfhonden.nl
***************************************************
Arnotts Join ARAN's 'Fur Free Ireland' Program
Dear
ARAN Members,
We've got good news to bring all our members. Today, Animal Rights Action
Network can officially announce that Dublin department store Arnotts based
on Henry Street is joining ARAN's 'Fur Free Ireland' program which is
working with leading department stores, fashion boutiques and business's
that are saying no to fur. We are also pleased to announce that Arnotts
have a fur free policy in place for many years thus sending a very strong
message out to other retailers that you can still have a killer look,
without actually killing.
Arnotts now joins the ranks of other leading companies such as Brown Thomas,
Debenhams, Karen Millen, Marks & Spencers, Dunnes Stores, ZARA, Polo
Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, H & M and many more that now have fur
free policies in place.
Animal Rights Action Network would like to take this opportunity to congratulate
the company on joining our 'Fur Free Ireland' program.
You can help, please thank Arnotts for joining 'ARAN's Fur Free Ireland'
program, email them today at info@arnotts.ie
Thank you from us here at Animal Rights Action Network
Ps, please consider sending a donation to Animal Rights Action Network
to help us reach even more retailers who may be using fur. Please continue
to visit our website www.ARAN.ie to learn more about our work.
***************************************************
Help us stop Bullfighting in Bogotá Colombia
Dear Sirs,
As a way of supporting the no-bullfighting movement that we initiate in the city of Bogotá, we permit to send you a document in which we express our total repudiation towards this act of extreme barbarism that still is realized in our city.
We expect to be able to celebrate with you later on the abolition of the bullfights in our city.
For that reason we request for your help sending the suggested text attached, to the following addresses to make a big pronunciation about this from other countries.
Thanks for your cooperation
Sincerly
Fundacion Amigos del Planeta SH
www.amigosdelplaneta.com
<http://www.marketingpal.com/ecomres/redirect.asp?id=8869&specid=1365&etrack_id=1199630>
Bogotá, Colombia
_____
canalrcn@canalrcn.com
editorinternet@canalrcn.com
cidarraga@canalrcn.com
vedavila@lafm.com.co
defensor.televidente@caracoltv.com.co
correo@semana.com
editorweb@elespectador.com.co
diario@elpais.com.co
manager@invosflowers.com
<http://www.marketingpal.com/ecomres/redirect.asp?id=8870&specid=1365&etrack_id=1199630>
elmundo@elmundo.com
buzon@eluniversal.com.co
gerencia@laopinion.com.co
jefederedaccion@laopinion.com.co
erodriguez@vanguardialiberal.com.co
lapatria@lapatria.com
diariodelsur@diariodelsur.com.co
webmaster@hoydiariodelmagdalena.com.co
gerencia@elmeridianodecordoba.com.co
alcaldia@bucaramanga.gov.co
webmaster@medellin.gov.co
personer@epm.net.co
sqs@alcaldiabogota.go.co
atncliente@idrd.gov.co
info@scrd.gov.co
portalbogota@alcaldiabogota.gov.co
ccapital@canalcapital.gov.co
quejasyreclamos@concejodebogota.gov.co
idipron@etb.net.co
choyos@mincultura.gov.co
aguevara@minambiente.gov.co
oandramunio@mineducacion.gov.co
angela.carreno@mij.gov.co
hpelaez@caracol.com.co
ggardeazabal@caracol.com.co
jcarulla@comcel.com.co
_____
SUGGESTED TEXT
Dear Sirs:
Our positive image of Colombia, often due alters because of the information that we receive according to human rights manage.
We know that these topics are not easy to solve in your country due to the presence of armed illegal groups.
We have now the ungrateful news that in some cities of Colombia, specially in Bogotá, they have a program of bullfighting in January and February 2008, sponsored by the local government and with the Colombians money. It is regrettable that a country that is being destroyed by the violence, promote this kind of primitive spectacles which spreads so shameless across all the mass media, without measuring the impact of violence that is sowed in a society who lives in the middle of violence.
All over the world only six (6) countries continue with this abominable spectacle (MEXICO, ESPANA, EQUADOR, PERU, VENEZUELA AND COLOMBIA), proving that respect towards life, do not achieve a civilized level yet.
We will be grateful if you advance negotiations to stimulate the respect for life; then you could advance campaigns to love life an in this level it will be possible to visualize the magnitude of cruelty that inocent animals suffer pleasing syndromes of sadism in some few Colombians.
We declare our absolute rejection to the organizers, sponsors and spectators of one of the most depressing and disrespectful spectacle as it is bullfighting.
We will begin a campaign against the consumption of Colombian products in order to complain this official cruelty.
Your name, your foundation
***************************************************
Subject: Two new videos to help animals
The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to announce the release of an exclusive new video narrated by James Cromwell, the acclaimed actor and star of multiple films such as Babe. The video, "Overlooked," takes a look at:
* The cruelty animals
endure on factory farms.
* Recent advancements for farm animals.
* Tips on how everyone can and should help reduce animal suffering.
We invite you to view the two-minute video here: http://tinyurl.com/2qb4ow. Please feel welcome to contact me with any questions.
And if you live in California (or have friends or family there), check out the following video about ways to volunteer to help: http://humanecalifornia.org/
Alyson Bodai
Outreach Manager, Factory Farming Campaign
The Humane Society of the United States
www.HumaneSociety.org
Interested in taking
action online to help animals? Then join our online community!
Go to: https://community.hsus.org/humane/join
***************************************************
World Society for the Protection of Animals - Whales not whaling
Dear WSPA Supporter,
Hard as it is to believe, thousands of whales continue to be savagely
hunted and killed every year. At WSPA, we are determined to put a stop
to this cruelty – a vision we think you share.
It’s not long til the International Whaling Commission’s next
meeting. With Japan and Norway preparing to hunt nearly 2,500 whales this
year, it’s time the Commission reassessed its priorities.
Will you help us remind the world that the argument should not be about
kill quotas, but protecting whales from suffering?
You’ve taken action for the world’s whales before. Now it’s
time to make your voice heard again. Add your name to our petition and
tell your government it's time to refocus on whales
not whaling
****************************************************
Join ARAN's Protest to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'
Dear
ARAN Members & Supporters,
Mark your diaries for our exciting and important campaign event! Animal
Rights Action Network is staging a peaceful protest to launch our campaign
to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'. This is going to be our largest campaign
event this year. We desperately need you to take important time out to
come along and ensure its success. Details for you are as follows:-
Date: Wednesday, January 30th
Time: 12noon Sharp to 2pm
Place: Department of Agriculture, Kildare Street, Dublin
We write now in order to give you time to prepare. Are you working that
Wednesday? May we suggest you book one or two hours off work, school or
college to ensure you are there with us to add your voice to our campaign
to 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland'? It is vital we receive your support for
this
event. This year we have a realistic opportunity of encouraging agriculture
Minister Mary Coughlan to ban fur farming on grounds that with the very
best intentions animal welfare standards cannot be met. She must move
Ireland in the right direction and put Ireland on the map for animal protection,
after all, fur farming is now illegal in the UK, Northern Ireland and
Austria.
Take action! We need you to hold placards or distribute educational leaflets
to curious passersby, you will also be joined by two lovely 'fox's' that
will be holding a banner that reads 'Ban Fur Farming in Ireland' whilst
waving to traffic and passersby! You will also get to meet other kind
and
caring people who are opposed to cruelty to animals. So please get cracking,
be sure to invite family members, friends, send this email far and wide.
Please let ARAN know if you're attending by replying to this email!
We do hope to see you there, thank you from us all here at,
Animal Rights Action Network <http://www.aran.ie>
www.ARAN.ie
'Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland'
Ps, please make a difference, do everything you can to be there with us
to show Ireland's opposition to fur farming.
****************************************************
European Convention for Animals Rights
Sign the petition
A member of the European Parliament, Mr. Alain Hutchinson, is committed
to cooperate with animal welfare and to get a "European Convention
Protecting Pets and Stray Animals" passed as soon as possible. He
needs 1 million signatures in order to present the project to the Parliament.
That means we need to get hard at work and collect those signatures. The
preamble of the proposed European Constitution states that "The Union
plans to advance towards progress and civilisation". Respect for
animal life is a hindrance neither to progress nor economic and social
development. A Union that wishes to be coherent and to advance on the
road of civilization is under every obligation to deal with the issue
of animal
welfare and to ensure that it is dealt with properly by all of its Member
States. An ever progressing Union must respect life in all of its forms
and
do everything in its power to put a stop to the massacres currently being
perpetrated on animals. It should also take the initiative to use its
legal competence to vote in a European directive on the subject or at
least a framework law on animal protection. The images of cruelty with
which we are constantly confronted are shocking and only serve to damage
the image of the countries concerned.
Contents of the Framework
Law
a.. Severely punish those who publicly abandon an animal;
b.. Animals should be identified upon purchase by their owner with an
electronic chip as the law foresees across Europe as of 2007;
c.. Severely punish all mistreatment of animals in accordance with a
future law to be applied throughout the European Union; and
d.. Establish a policy of birth control, i.e. draw up a budget with the
aim of:
a.. Organizing and funding a Europe-wide trap, neuter, release and
vaccination program for millions of stray animals in Europe;
b.. Constructing shelters that conform to the norms in place within
the EU;
c.. Subsidizing these shelters to ensure that the animals are
comfortably housed, fed and treated in time; and
d.. Financing the post of a shelter director for each shelter and
ensure that his role is carried out to a minimum Europe wide standard.
Please fill out this form to sign this petition:
Your Name: *
E-Mail: *
Street Address:
City: State: ZIP/Postal:
Country:
Your message to Mr. Alain Hutchinson:
* By checking this box, you authorize Romania Animal Rescue to send an
email statement containing your name, email, address and comments to MEP
Alain Hutchinson as part of this petition.
* Required
This survey is conducted by A.D.A. Asbl, contact of Mr. Hutchinson.
A.D.A. Asbl (Association
de Défense Animale)
N° entreprise Moniteur belge: 8611001860
Compte 068/2337371-86
http://www.my-itworld.net/ADA
****************************************************
Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS) Campaign Updates - January 2008
Campaign
Updates - January 2008
______________________________________
Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS)
PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland
Website: www.banbloodsports.com
WAPsite: www.banbloodsports.com/wap
ICABS TV: www.youtube.com/icabs
ICABS on Bebo: www.bebo.com/banbloodsports
ICABS on MySpace: www.myspace.com/banbloodsports
01. Protest against hare coursing - February 6th
02. Hunters run scared of Late Late Show
03. Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
04. New ICABS Badges
05. Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass launch new website
06. ICABS letter in Sunday Independent
07. Lodge complaint against cruel Mexican bull event
08. Hotel website asked to stop publicising foxhunting
09. Campaign Quotes
______________________________________
01. Protest against hare coursing - February 6th
______________________________________
A protest against hare coursing is being planned for Wednesday, February
6th, 2008 from 12 noon to 2 pm.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is one of the groups from all around
Ireland who will be represented at this peaceful demonstration outside
the coursing finals venue - Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Show you care about the thousands of Irish Hares snatched from the countryside
every year, crammed into boxes, kept captive in coursing fields for months
and eventually forced to run for their lives in front of greyhounds. Watch
our campaign video at www.youtube.com/icabs to see the fatal maulings
suffered by these fragile creatures during coursing meetings.
ICABS wants to see this being the last ever coursing season in Ireland.
We need your help to send the strongest message possible to the government
that blood sport cruelty is no longer acceptable. Over the coming weeks,
please keep an eye on the ICABS website - www.banbloodsports.com - for
updates on the protest, action alerts and other details about how you
can help bring coursing to an end.
Thank you for caring about Irish wildlife and for supporting our campaign.
"Ban Hare Coursing" - Protest Details Outside Powerstown Park,
Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
12 noon to 2 pm
(Be there for the hares. Please bring placards if possible)
For driving directions, please visit maps.yahoo.net
______________________________________
02. Hunters run scared of Late Late Show
______________________________________
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports was informed by the Late Late Show
on Thursday, 10th January, that a debate on hunting, scheduled for the
next night's show, had been axed because hunting representatives have
refused to take part. The reason for this eleventh hour back out by the
hunters was, we understand, that they objected to a representative of
the Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass Group being invited to take
part in the debate.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports spokesperson, Aideen Yourell, who
was also scheduled to participate, expressed "absolute amazement"
at the
turn of events.
"By refusing to take part in the Late Late debate, the hunters have
now shown that they have a lot to hide, both in terms of the cruelty they
mete out to animals, and the annoyance they cause to farmers by routinely
trespassing and creating havoc on farmlands," Aideen Yourell commented.
"As well as running scared of the farmers' group, I believe that
their decision to pull out is due to a fear of their heinous activities
being exposed on prime time television, with video footage of the cruelty
possibly being shown. These people are the epitome of the 'schoolyard
bully' - well able to dole out cruelty but terrified of the exposure."
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports feels it is a great pity that the
Late Late Show has axed this important discussion. We believe that they
could have gone ahead without the hunters and made it clear that they
refused to take part. We understand that the discussion will be rescheduled
in the coming weeks.
ACTION ALERT
Contact the Late Late Show and urge them not to allow the hunters to stifle
a free discussion on the issues surrounding hunting. Remind the Late Late
Show that a majority of Irish people want blood sports banned and that
a major television expose of the cruelty and other related issues is long
overdue.
The Late Late Show
RTE 1, Donnybrook, Dublin 4
Email: latelate@rte.ie
Tel: 01 2083100
______________________________________
03. Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
______________________________________
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 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkgDFdcEQo.
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.
Watch the ICABS Campaign Video: Coillte! Keep hunts out of our forests!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkgDFdcEQo
(Duration: 53 seconds)
Display the 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=1"></param><param
name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed
src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NFkgDFdcEQo&rel=1"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"
width="425"
height="355"></embed></object>
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
foxhunts to carry out blood sport activities in forests. Considering the
appalling cruelty of foxhunting and the fact that a majority of Irish
people want it 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]
______________________________________
04. New ICABS Badges
______________________________________
Show your support for the campaign against blood sports. Purchase one
of the new ICABS badges today and help raise funds for our campaign against
animal cruelty in Ireland. Displaying our banbloodsports.com website address,
these cool red 28mm badges cost just 1 Euro each (including
postage and packaging to anywhere in the world).
To order, simply send payment to ICABS at the usual address - ICABS, PO
Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ireland. You may also order by credit
card (or paypal) - visit www.banbloodsports.com and click on the badge
image on our homepage for more details.
______________________________________
05. Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass launch new website
______________________________________
Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass has launched a new website to
provide advice and support to the landowners around Ireland who continue
to be plagued by trespassing hunting groups. The site can be accessed
at www.myspace.com/farmersagainstfoxhunting
The FAFT leaflet advising farmers why they should prohibit hunts from
land is available to download from the site. The group is urging members
of the public to print a copy of the leaflet and hand out copies to all
their landowner friends and family members.
______________________________________
06. ICABS letter in Sunday Independent
______________________________________
The Sunday Independent has published three letters highlighting the cruelty
of the Ward Union's deer chase. Among those printed was one from
ICABS Campaign Director, Aideen Yourell, who called for the hunt to stop
terrorising the deer and switch to the humane alternative of drag hunting.
Stop bizarre deer hunting 'sport'
Sunday Independent, January 06, 2008
by Aideen Yourell, Irish Council Against Blood Sports
Sir -- It seems that the cavalry of the Ward Union, headed up by Michael
Bailey, weren't able to whoop it up on St Stephen's Day when they couldn't
hound a deer around the countryside for "sport", after Environment
Minister John Gormley issued a restricted licence, which stipulates that
deer must not be hunted by hounds (Sunday Independent, December 30).
For over 100 years now, this hunt, twice-weekly from November to March,
has been subjecting tame deer to a distressing ordeal, leaving them exhausted,
often injured and at risk of dying of heart failure, despite claims from
one of their supporters that she had never seen a hunted deer injured.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, incidents of cruelty have been documented,
such as deer dying of aneurisms; a deer choked on capture; a
deer drowned in a quarry; a deer sustaining fractured ribs and dying;
a deer hanging by its front leg on barbed wire; and lameness in deer
following hunts. These, we believe, are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has always contended that this
hunt should never have been licensed and this has now been borne out by
Professors William Binchy and Clive Symmons of Trinity School of Law in
a recently published legal opinion which concludes that the Ward Union
hunt is "illegal" under the 1911 Protection of Animals Act,
and that it shouldn't be licensed under the 1976 Wildlife Act.
The Ward Union should now call it a day on their bizarre, outdated and
abusive deer hunt, and switch to drag hunting, which is cruelty-free.
For more letters on this issue, visit http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/stop-bizarre-deer-hunting-sport-1258768.html
______________________________________
07. Lodge complaint against cruel Mexican bull event
______________________________________
(Source of information: M. Mench)
Each year on 1st February, six bulls are tortured and killed during the
"Fiesta de la Virgen de la Candelaria" in the Mexican town of
Tlacotalpan.
The terrified animals are roped and dragged through a river by men in
boats before being mercilessly chased through the streets.
Please register your disgust at this event. Lodge a complaint with UNESCO
(Tlacotalpan is a UNESCO World Heritage site) as well as with the
local authorities and international tourism bodies promoting Mexico. Your
letter can make a difference - please take a few moments to send a
message to the following addresses:
wh-info@unesco.org, F.Bandarin@unesco.org, A.Pedersen@unesco.org, n.sanz@unesco.org,
dl.mexique@unesco.org, mexico@unesco.org,
mt.baz@unesco.org, felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx, fidelherrera@veracruz-llave.gob.mx,
info@tlaco.com.mx, ofe_montalvo@hotmail.com,
tlaco2005_2007@hotmail.com, contacto@sagarpa.gob.mx, alberto.cardenas@sagarpa.gob.mx,
portal_vrz@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx, delegado@vrz.sagarpa.gob.mx, c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx,
elegado@veracruz.semarnat.gob.mx, embamex@embamex.or.at,
mision@embamex.or.at, icm@embamex.or.at, info@embamexcan.com, prensafrancia@sre.gob.mx,
mail@embamexale.de,
embamex@embamex-nl.com, embamex1@swissonline.ch, mexuk@easynet.co.uk,
culturalgb@sre.gob.mx, relizondo@sectur.gob.mx, flopez@promotur.com.mx,
sgonzalez@promotur.com, relacionespublicas@promotur.com.mx, northamericanpress@visitmexico.com,
uk@visitmexico.com, contacteurope@visitmexico.com, germany@visitmexico.com,
france@visitmexico.com, otmex@wanadoo.fr,
italy@visitmexico.com, spain@visitmexico.com, argentina@visitmexico.com,
brasil@visitmexico.com, cptmtokio@hotmail.com,
cptmbeijing@gmail.com, echaillo@visitmexico.com, veronica.querejazu@newlinkcorp.com,
hguerrero@visitmexico.com, arisol.hernandez@newlinkcorp.com,ouston@visitmexico.com,sandra.munoz@newlinkcorp.com,
mmora@visitmexico.com,
gustavo.rivas@newlinkcorp.com,miami@visitmexico.com,yusfia.jimenez@newlinkcorp.com,
montreal@visitmexico.com,
toronto@visitmexico.com, dgutierrez@visitmexico.com, arzobispado@arzobispadomexico.org.mx
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am thoroughly sad and disgusted to learn that an event involving cruelty
to bulls continues to take place in the UNESCO World Heritage
site of Tlacotalpan. Please act to ensure that this "Embalse De Toros"
event is prevented from going ahead during the 2008 "Fiesta de la
Virgen
de la Candelaria".
Millions of people in Mexico, the USA, Europe and all around the world
are opposed to animal cruelty. We are all hoping that Tlacotalpan will
show compassion and save the bulls from this horror.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Name/Location
______________________________________
08. Hotel website asked to stop publicising foxhunting
______________________________________
Hotel reservations website, CentralR, has been asked by ICABS to stop
publicising foxhunting on its website.
In an entry for a Carlton Shearwater Hotel, the website mentions foxhunting
as one of the local "leisure pursuits" -
http://www.centralr.com/Carlton_Shearwater_Hotel.html
ICABS has provided CentralR with photos showing the barbarity of foxhunting
and informed them that 70 per cent of Irish people view
foxhunting as cruel, with a majority wanting the activity banned.
"We believe that most of the visitors to your site would find the
publicisation of foxhunting to be offensive," we stated. "We
hope that
you can consider excluding references to foxhunting from your site."
ACTION ALERTS
1. Please join us in asking CentralR to exclude the reference to cruel
foxhunting from their site.
CentralR Headquarters:
2nd Floor Quantum House,
52 Temple Road,
Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
Email: info@CentralR.com
Tel: +353 (0) 1 764 2500
Fax: +353 (0) 1 633 5445
2. Write to Carlton Shearwater and ask them to act to ensure that foxhunting
is not mentioned in relation to their hotel - info.shearwater@carlton.ie.
______________________________________
09. Campaign Quotes
______________________________________
"Three hounds of one of the world's most famous hunting packs were
shot dead in Crecora this Monday. Others were wounded by gunfire as the
pack
of the County Limerick Foxhounds entered a farmer's land in pursuit of
a fox. The mounted hunt itself did not enter the property as it was known
that the landowner was averse to giving permission to the hunt to traverse
his fields." (Limerick Leader, 15 December 2007)
"A neighbour of the family involved in the incident in Crecora said
that the hunt should have known better than go near this farm. 'He has
a sign
up lands preserved, people know to stay away and he has sheep. I don't
know the full circumstances, but maybe he was justified. Maybe he
wasn't. But it is his land.'" (Limerick Leader, 15 December 2007)
"[Ward Union] Joint hunt master Michael Bailey is not just a millionaire:
he is a millionaire with extremely close links to Fianna Fail. Each year
he is a regular in the Soldiers of Destiny tent at the Galway races. The
party is unconcerned by corruption allegations made against him at the
Mahon Tribunal, or his 25 million euro settlement last year to the Revenue
Commissioners, paid along with his brother and business partner Tom. Indeed,
the very next day Tom Bailey was pictured at the Leopardstown races with
none other than An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern." (Daily Mail, December
29th, 2007)
"The last thing hunting needs is to give Gormley and his friends
in ICABS the moral victory of converting the Ward Union to a drag hunt.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with drag hunting. It is just
a different sport and for those who by choice hunt live quarry, we must
not bow to Gormley's and ICABS' wishes." (Brian Munn, spokesman for
the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association - from an online hunting discussion,
January 8th, 2008)
"This is not the first time that the hunters have put pressure on
the media to keep Farmers Against Foxhunting and Trespass off the air.
They
can't handle the truth. They can't hunt without farmers' lands, and we
don't want them. They're afraid of having this hot topic raised in the
media. By having this issue raised on the Late Late Show, they know that
many more farmers will find a voice, after years of persecution, and
give local hunts their walking papers." (Farmers Against Foxhunting
and Trespass chairman, Philip Lynch, on the news that the Late Late Show
hunting debate was not going ahead on January 11th)
"Recent figures from the Department of Environment, Heritage and
Local Government show that over 24,000 dogs were abandoned in Ireland
in 2006,
and twice as many dogs were put to sleep as were re-homed. Ireland puts
down dogs at a rate 10 times higher than in the UK, a country 10 times
the size of Ireland. Additionally, two-thirds of all unwanted dogs are
put to sleep, most of them perfectly healthy because no one was
available or willing to adopt them." (Waterford Today, 2nd January
2008)
"The Taoiseach has asked me to pass on his best wishes to you."
(From an email to ICABS from the office of An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern
- 3rd
January 2008)
______________________________________
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
______________________________________
Become a supporter of ICABS
______________________________________
Please become a supporter of ICABS. 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 "Donate" button. Thank you. Your support will allow us
to continue campaigning against blood sport cruelty in Ireland.
****************************************************
Good News, Canadian Seal Industry Faces 'Crisis' Because of Import Bans, Sealers Told
January 10th, 2008
Dear ARAN Members,
Here is great news regarding the campaign to stop Canada killing seals, please see below. It is a positive step forward and it shows that we are making a huge difference as we near an end to this merciless killing of the innocent.
Animal Rights Action Network met with the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland and we showed footage of the cruel killing of seals, here in Ireland ARAN continues to support the international campaign by:-
* Organizing our
annual protest outside the Canadian embassy (Always well supported)
* Coordinating Irish letter and email writing campaigns to the Canadian
government
* Working on the Irish Canadian ‘seafood’ boycott
* Generating public support to help stop Canada killing seals with leaflet
distribution and petition signing
* We are also in regular contact with the Canadian government explaining
how Irish people feel about the slaughter.
* We have also generated the support of every Irish MEP to support an
EU wide ban.
ARAN will be organizing another peaceful protest outside the Canadian Embassy in March (Details will be mailed to you nearer the time), it would make a huge difference if you can take 5 minutes to fill in a European consultation form online that asks you questions on how you feel about the cruelty and if you would like to see Europe ban the import of seal ‘products’ from Canada. It’s user friendly, simple and straightforward and within minutes the EU will be aware of how you feel on the Canadian seal slaughter as they are going to make a decision soon.
* The consultation will remain open until 13/02/2008
Please click here to tell the EU that you want a European wide ban on the import of seal ‘products’.
As always thanks for supporting our work across Ireland.
Animal Rights Action Network
Ps, please continue to visit our website www.ARAN.ie as we are now having it updated weekly and enjoy the news link below.
Canadian Press
Canadian seal industry faces 'crisis' because of import bans, sealers
told
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Canada's centuries-old commercial sealing industry faces a "crisis" because of growing opposition throughout Europe that threatens to close vital markets, the head of the Fur Institute of Canada said Tuesday.
In a stark address to a gathering of about 100 sealers, Bruce Williams, chairman of the organization, said the future of the seal harvest is bleak if support for bans on the import of seal products continues to build in Europe.
"Unfortunately, the animal rights organizations around the world have come to realize that the easiest way to kill something - for maybe lack of a better term - is to kill the market," Williams said.
"If you can't sell the product, if it has no commercial value, then I would say that it is doomed."
Belgium and Holland have approved legislation prohibiting the sale of seal products. Germany, Italy and Austria are drafting similar legislation, prompting pressure for the European Union to adopt a ban.
While those countries aren't Canada's biggest importers of seal products, they serve as a critical shipment and manufacturing point to the larger markets of Norway, Russia and China.
Williams said there's an additional effect an EU-wide ban could have on the sealing industry.
"One thing I can tell you is that if fur is not fashionable on the runways of Paris and Milan, it's not going to be fashionable anywhere," he said.
"The simple reality today is the big markets are China and Russia, but they want things that are in style, and style is not dictated by those countries. It's dictated by the countries in Europe."
Even Loyola Sullivan, Canada's fisheries ambassador, acknowledged Tuesday that efforts to overcome the anti-sealing lobby in Europe would be tough.
"It's difficult because it's advanced so far," Sullivan said.
"It's got a tremendous foothold in Europe, and most people close to the situation feel that a ban by other countries is imminent, that it's gone too far. It would be unpopular now for a member of parliament in a European country to support the hunt."
In September, Canada launched a challenge to the World Trade Organization in an effort to persuade the Belgian and Dutch governments to reverse their bans, arguing their policies were rooted in misinformation spread in large part by animal rights groups. Ottawa's complaint remains before the WTO.
Mark Small, a former president of the Canadian Sealing Association and longtime sealer, said even though Canada's hunt is the most sustainable in the world, his fellow hunters may have to accept some changes in their practices, such as different measures to cull the seals.
"I'm definitely sure that, as a sealer myself, we can do a better job than we've been doing in the past," Small said.
"We've got to make some compromises if we're going to protect our future industry in this province."
The federal government is proposing sealers immediately bleed the seal after shooting or clubbing it - a process that involves cutting two large blood vessels - to minimize pain and distress.
Rebecca Aldworth, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of the United States, said Ottawa should drop its efforts to reverse bans in Europe and put together a buyout package for sealers.
"We hope that the sealing industry will work with us to push the federal government to fairly compensate the people that will be affected by the closure of the sealing industry," Aldworth said from Montreal.
"That is the most graceful way for the Canadian government to exit this controversy."
Animal rights activists have long condemned the hunt, saying the annual slaughter is cruel, difficult to monitor and ravages stock levels.
But sealers and the federal Fisheries Department have just as vigorously defended the hunt as sustainable, humane and a necessary source of income for fishermen on the Atlantic coast.
The seal hunt usually begins in late March or early April, depending on ice conditions.
****************************************************
Coillte! Keep Hunters out of forests
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!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFkgDFdcEQo
****************************************************
URGENT!
European Trade in Seals, Consultation
Please express your views on the European trade in seal products.
Go to the following
link and answer the consultation:
http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=seals
This consultation will remain open until 13/02/2008.
****************************************************
Animals are Sentient Beings - Online Petition
Published
by Earle Bingley on Dec 16, 2007 Category: Animal Rights Region:
GLOBAL
Target: Canadian and U.S. and all Governments
Web site: http://www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/
Description/History:
Petition to change existing laws regarding domestic animals.
Petition:
The Honourable Robert Nicholson, P.C., Q.C.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Michael Mukasey Attorney of the United States
All Justice Ministers of all Countries
At this time laws in Canada and the United States of America state that domestic dogs and cats are considered property, and have no rights as sentient beings.
We, at the Canadian Voice for Animals Foundation, call upon both countries to change the law. Dogs and cats that are adopted should be designated as companions and the adopters should be called the guardians of any such animals. As guardians they would be responsible for any harm to the adoptee.
Every day of the year a dog or cat is abused by their owners, and if and when the abuser is found he/she is given a slap on the wrist. Laws need to be passed by both governments to ensure that animal abusers are punished to the full extent of the law.
Laws at present are lax and should be changed to state that all animal abusers will be sentenced to at least one year in prison with no chance for parole, and be banned from ever having an animal in their possession.
Laws need to be passed for second time abusers. A mandatory sentence of ten years in prison, with no chance for parole, and banned from ever having an animal in their possession.
Earle Bingley,
President,
Canadian Voice for Animals Foundation
www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/
www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/Argentina
www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/Norway
http://www.cvfaf-germany.org/
Sign the petition: http://www.gopetition.com/online/15780.html
****************************************************
Join the Nationwide Call to Stop Cruelty to Animals
I am
writing to you from the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) <http://www.aran.ie>
Ireland's largest grassroots animal protection group.
Every day we hear of heartbreaking stories involving cruelty to animals
across our nation. Although the Celtic tiger is still in swing, it seems
the animals are forgotten. It takes good work by groups like ARAN and
yourselves to help make a difference to ease the animal's pain and stop
their torment. It breaks my heart to know animals are suffering in Ireland
this very moment. I find it hard knowing dogs are forced to live outdoors
in the freezing cold, cats being abused, Ireland's wildlife being persecuted
in the name of 'sport', animals being abused in the circus, laboratory
and greyhound racing, gentle greyhounds being the victims of this cruel
sport.
December 10th 2006 Animal Rights Action Network organized the first
ever 'Rally Against The Cruelty' in Dublin. Hundreds of our own members
and supporters attended and also supported by members of the public
and other respected Irish animal protection groups. It was a lovely
day, we came together to voice our concerns about cruelty to animals
and it gave people a chance to network with other people who care about
animals. Media coverage was fantastic in the run up to the event and
after the event our message to stamp out cruelty to animals went nationwide.
This year (2008) we are rallying our supporters again and we want to
invite you and your group to come out and support the call to stop the
torment of animals here in Ireland. This event will only be successful
with your support. Animal Rights Action Network has set up a page on
our website www.ARAN.ie where people can log on to get more information
on the event, we are hoping this will be by far the biggest, greatest
and most effective event ever in Ireland's history and we need your
support to make a difference.
Please do your part:-
1. Please email all your supporters alerting them to our peaceful rally
in Dublin and direct them onto ARAN.ie to learn more
2. Log onto our website www.ARAN.ie to sign up and personally stay informed
3. Make a donation to Animal Rights Action Network to ensure our work
across Ireland is noticed in Dail Eireann
4. Post a special message or notice on your website or blog (Contact ARAN)
for advice)
5. Forward this email to caring friends and family who agree that animal
abuse is not wanted in Ireland
You do not support cruelty to animals, so I am hoping you get behind
this nationwide campaign to 'Stop Cruelty to Animals in Ireland'. Contact
me personally so that I can answer any questions or indeed help you
in anyway I can.
Thank you for all that you are doing to help animals,
John Carmody
Ps, please do your part to make sure our call is heard loud and clear.
John Carmody | Campaigns Coordinator | Animal Rights Action Network
(ARAN) 120 Vale Avenue | Carew Park | Limerick | Ireland
Tel: 087-6275579 | Intl' +353-87-6275579 | Email: arancampaigns@eircom.net
Website: www.ARAN.ie
"Fighting Animal Abuse Across Ireland"
****************************************************
home
|
about |
services
|
re-homing
|
sanctuary
|
get
involved |
contact
useful information |
news
|
shads
corner |
in
loving memory |
links
|
special
gspca pal |
fund
raising |
lost
& found
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
