Bloodbath at the GPO
Animal rights activists staged a colourful demonstration at the GPO today to lobby the newly elected Minister for Environment, John Gormley to ban blood sports. The protesters specifically appealed to the minister not renew a stag hunting licence this week.
The protest was organised by Association of Hunt Saboteurs and the Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports and featured a young woman clad in hunting attire bathing in a large tub filled with fake blood. The spectacle intended to “symbolise the savage cruelty and bloodletting of the hunting season, during which foxes, stags, and hares are hounded for sport in the countryside”.
Today's protest was timed to coincide with the annual renewal at the end of July of the Ward Union Stag Hunt licence, the only licenced stag hunt in Ireland. Bernie Wright, PRO of the Association of Hunt Saboteurs explained that “this is what we are trying to prevent in particular. We are hear to highlight all blood sports but in particular the Ward Union Stag hunt because they get an annual licence they get an exemption under the Wildlife Act to hunt stag.”
The Association feels that the stags in question are farmed deer. The association alleges that the stags are kept in a field beside kennels and therefore don't come under the wildlife act as they are farmed and not wild.
Wright spoke of an incident in Kildalkey in Co. Meath last year, “Last year they ran into trouble when they chased a stag into a school yard”. “The stag was exhausted and bloodied and frothing at the mouth and children were terrified, they rode up and down the street terrorising the whole village, so people in their own area don't want them.”
She went on to say that the only justification the club gives for this is “fun”. “We see no reason why they have a licence to do this.”
Wright was optimistic that the licence would not be renewed. “A few years ago John Gormley signed our petition against stag hunting outside the Dáil one day.” And as part of their section on animal welfare in their manifesto the Green Party promised to “ban blood sports with heavy penalties for organisers of, and participants in, illegal blood sports”.
“So we are optimistic that they won't renew the licence. I don't know how John could justify giving the licence to them now that he is Minister for the Environment.”
Wright described the stag hunt as a hazard to people and traffic. A small group gathered at the protest and passing taxi drivers beeped in support.
The ISPCA has also called for “Legislators to take immediate steps to ban all forms of hunting with hounds” following the incident in Kildalkey last year.
More: Click here to read letter on the stag hunting licence on Village Blog
More photos: Protesters outside the GPO on O'Connell Street (Photos by Aisling O'Rourke)
