Ireland’s hidden bloodsport: Cruel cub hunting continues

Ireland’s hidden bloodsport: The “cubbing” season is upon us. This involves the hunting and killing of fox cubs to give novice hounds a taste for blood – Read John Fitzgerald’s Letter to the Editor in today’s Irish Daily Mail and please scroll down for action alert…

Ban cruel hunts
Irish Daily Mail: 16th August 2022

August is a big month for the equestrian sector, with all the glitz and glamour of the Dublin Horse Show, the month when Irish horseflesh is showcased to the world in a PR extravaganza.
Unfortunately it’s also the time of year when one of most attractive creatures in the Irish countryside has to run for cover.

The “cubbing” season is upon us. This involves the hunting and killing of fox cubs to give novice hounds a taste for blood.

The hunt arrives in a field or wooded area known to contain a litter of fox cubs. They flush out the cubs. The waiting novice hounds are then released to attack. The cubs are ripped to pieces. If one tries to break through the human chain it is whipped or kicked to the pack.

A Red C poll revealed that 77% of Irish people favour a ban on fox hunting. That figure would probably increase if people could see what happens to the unfortunate cubs.

During the worst of the Pandemic, when we found time to re-connect with nature, many of us experienced the joy of seeing a fox moseying about a quiet town or village street.

I suggest we maintain that respect for our wildlife heritage and say NO the monstrous cruelty of cub hunting, Ireland’s hidden blood sport.

John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co. Kilkenny

ACTION ALERT

Foxes should be protected, not persecuted. Urge politicians to respect the wishes of the majority and ban foxhunting now. A RED C opinion poll has confirmed that 77 per cent of Irish citizens want fox hunting banned (with just 12 per cent disagreeing with a ban).

Contact the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Sinn Fein, Labour Party and the Green Party and tell them to act to ban fox hunting and all bloodsports.

Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/

Contact all your local TDs and urge them to push for a ban on foxhunting. Visit the Oireachtas website for names of TDs and their email addresses http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=33&disp=mem

Keep hunters off your land

If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners Page – http://www.banbloodsports.com/farmers.htm

Sign and share our “Ban Blood Sports in Ireland” petition
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Video: Why foxhunting must be banned in Ireland

Witness the cruelty of foxhunting at
http://www.banbloodsports.com/videos.htm

Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports

Urge Virgin Media not to televise greyhound racing

Join us in urging Virgin Media not to televise greyhound racing next month.

Virgin Media TV is planning to broadcast the semi final of the Boylesports derby from Shelbourne Park stadium on Saturday 17th September and also the derby final a week later on 24th September.

Virgin Media should NOT be promoting this cruel, dog-killing activity. The public wants to see greyhound racing ended and not given a platform on national television.

In an appeal to the station, we referred to RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running for Their Lives” documentary which exposed the horrors of greyhound racing, including the behind-the-scenes killing every year of around 6,000 greyhounds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM

We highlighted that there is growing public opposition to greyhound racing, plummeting attendance at races and ongoing protests outside tracks, including at Shelbourne Park stadium.

“Greyhounds suffer and die at tracks and Shelbourne Park is one of the worst,” we stated. “At least 238 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 62 died or were killed by a track vet over the past seven years alone, sickening Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics show. Among the victims are a greyhound who died at the track in September 2021 (on the evening of the BoyleSports Irish Derby) after suffering a ‘severe fracture of the neck’, another who collapsed and died in December 2020 with a “haemorrhage into the abdomen from a rupture of the aorta”, a greyhound who died of a heart attack after a race and another who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone popped out.”

Responding to our appeal, Virgin Media TV Managing Director Paul Farrell stated: “I note your concerns and objections to greyhound racing as outlined in your recent email. I also note many of the concerns have been taken on board by the industry and incorporated into the recent code of practice under their General Welfare Principles. Greyhound racing is a publicly funded activity that is funded via the public purse on an annual basis and therefore I would respectfully suggest your concerns would be best directed to the relevant public representatives and bodies.“

“Virgin Media Television is a commercial broadcaster, and we rely totally on commercial revenues to support our business and our employees, as such we do not see it as our role to pre-judge or limit the range and choice of content we provide across our channels,” he added.

At tracks around Ireland since 2014, at least 2,853 greyhounds suffered injuries and 971 died or were killed. That includes 351 injuries and 154 deaths last year – the highest annual number of deaths at tracks since records began.

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Virgin Media to scrap plans to broadcast the Greyhound Racing Derby semi-finals and final in September.

Paul Farrell
Managing Director, Virgin Media Television

Tony Hanway
CEO, Virgin Media Ireland

Email: paul.farrell@virginmedia.ie; Tony.Hanway@virginmedia.ie
Telephone Virgin Media: +353 (0)1 245 8000
Tweet to: @VirginMediaIE @VMSportIE

 

Minister urged to say NO to €1 million grant to Kilkenny greyhound track

There are fresh calls on Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue to say NO to a massive ONE MILLION EURO refurbishment grant to Kilkenny greyhound track after it emerged that average attendance at races there last year was less than a hundred people.

Pro-bloodsports TDs Niall Collins, John McGuinness and Mattie McGrath have been pushing for the money to be ploughed into the stadium despite it being obvious from attendance stats that it is a very unpopular venue at a time when the public has been increasingly rejecting dog-killing greyhound racing.

In a Dail Question in March, pro-coursing TD Niall Collins – who holds the position of “Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science” – asked Minister McConalogue about “the status of funding for a project (details supplied)”.

The same month, Carlow-Kilkenny TD John McGuinness asked the Agriculture Minister “the current status of the grant already sanctioned to refurbish the Kilkenny dog track arising from the sale of Harold’s Cross stadium and the timeline for the payment of the grant.”

In April, Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath (Independent – formerly Fianna Fail) asked the Minister “when a full grant (details supplied) that was approved by a State body will be paid; when his Department will sanction this grant payment and the reason for the delay”.

Minister Charlie McConalogue has told them that Greyhound Racing Ireland “made an application to my Department for approval of a grant of €1 million towards the redevelopment of Kilkenny Greyhound Stadium [and] this application is currently being considered by officials from my Department.” https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-03-01/865/#pq_865

At a meeting of the Irish Greyhound Breeders Federation last week (9th August 2022), the issue was discussed and attendees were told that “funding for improvements to Kilkenny track are in place and awaiting signing off on by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the paperwork had been on their desk awaiting signing for a substantial time”.

This funding must NOT be granted to Kilkenny Stadium.

In appeals to the Minister to reject the grant application, ICABS highlighted the low attendance at the track and the majority view that the government should stop funding greyhound racing. “This funding should not be squandered on a very unpopular venue which is part of a dying ‘industry’.”

“There can be absolutely no justification for squandering one million euros on a venue which attracts 100 to 128 per race meeting,” we added. “With so many deserving sports/community/health/environmental /animal welfare groups in Kilkenny, and indeed in your own constituency, crying out for funds, it would not be received well by the public if this grant is approved by you and your department.”

We also again urged him to intervene to stop Greyhound Racing Ireland wasting €2.3 million on work at Shelbourne Park. We told him that last year at the 4,200 capacity stadium, the average attendance per race meeting was 198 and the average attendance for the first five months of 2022 was 482.

A RED C opinion poll has shown that a two-thirds majority want the government to stop all the funding that is propping up greyhound racing, with just 16 per cent wanting the funding to continue. Since 2001, Greyhound Racing Ireland has received over €309 million of public funds.

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Minister Charlie McConalogue to say NO to a million euro grant to Kilkenny greyhound track and end the government’s funding of greyhound racing.

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: 01 618 3199 or 01 607 2000
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Don’t go greyhound racing or attend events at greyhound tracks.

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour to stop the funding and back a ban on greyhound racing

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Leo Varadkar TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Eamon Ryan TD
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/

Please sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound “industry”
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Watch RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running For Their Lives” documentary

Animals should NOT be subjected to a stressful ordeal for human amusement

Animals should not be subjected to a stressful ordeal for the amusement of humans. The cruelty of the puck fair and hare coursing highlighted in John Fitzgerald’s Letter to the Editor in the Irish Daily Mail. After reading, please scroll down for action alert…

Cruelty or tradition? 
Irish Daily Mail
12th August 2022

It’s depressing to again hear tradition being touted as an excuse for subjecting a wild animal to a stressful ordeal for human amusement.

Hoisting a goat in a cage 50 feet above a Kerry town in the middle of a heatwave might strike some people as fun, but it’s not such a wholesome event when considered from the vantage point of the unfortunate animal. The fact that he wears a crown on his wizened head hardly compensates for this cruel blast from the past.

A few months from now, when the heat wave has been long forgotten, tradition will again be cited in defence of another relic of the Dark Ages. Hares will be chased by hyped-up dogs in hail, rain, and snow…twisting and dodging in water-logged, frozen, snow-covered, or storm swept fields all over Ireland.

Fans claim the hares enjoy the experience, like the goat allegedly gets a kick out of being hoisted aloft, and that they are, like King Puck, released back into the wild after the show. Whether in sweltering heat or the depths of a Climate Change Irish winter, animals have to bear the brunt of man’s stupidity and inhumanity.

The animals have no say. We think of them as dumb and of ourselves as the higher species. But I wonder if the Mad March Hare, for all his wild frolicking, or poor old King Puck, perched up there in isolation – caged without trial – have more sense than the humans who mount such crass entertainments at their expense.

John Fitzgerald
Callan, Co. Kilkenny

ACTION ALERT

Urge Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue to act to stop Puck Fair from ever again using a live goat.

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: 01 618 3199 or 01 607 2000
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Complain to Diageo (Guinness and Rockshore) about its sponsorship of the Puck Fair.
Email: consumercare.GBandIreland@diageo.com; customer.service@diageo.com

Contact the Puck Fair committee and urge them to replace the live goat with a sculpture or animatronic replica.

Email: PuckFairInfo@gmail.com
Tel: +353 (0)66 976 2366

HELP THE HARES: Urgently contact Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan and tell them to REVOKE the 2022-23 coursing licences.

Email “Please REVOKE the 2022-23 licences for cruel hare coursing” to minister@housing.gov.ie; mos@housing.gov.ie

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Malcolm Noonan TD (Carlow Kilkenny)
Minister of State for Heritage
Tel: (01) 618 3148 OR (01) 618 3156
Email: mos@housing.gov.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9% disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to pledge support for Paul Murphy TD’s upcoming Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie;
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie

Labour Party TDs

ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie; sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Vet clinic urged to stop sponsoring horse racing

Comeragh Veterinary Clinic in Kilmacthomas, Waterford is being urged to stop sponsoring horse racing at Tramore Racecourse.

At the racecourse today (14 August 2022), during the current heatwave, horses were raced in temperatures which were forecast to reach 25 degrees.

During the two and a half mile “Comeragh Veterinary Kilmacthomas Maiden Hurdle” race – which started at 2.50pm – 6 horses out of 13 “weakened” and two were pulled up.

The veterinary clinic has previously stated: “We are delighted to support our local racecourse, sponsoring a race like we do every year. Congratulations to the winner of our race…”

No veterinary practice should support an activity which is responsible for so much suffering and death to animals.

At Tramore Racecourse, horses suffer and die.

Horses recently raced there who are now dead include 6-year-old Roseville Getaway who “weakened” during a 10 April 2022 race and 5-year-old Rogues Getaway who “stumbled and fell” on the same day.

Also dead are two horses used in racing at Tramore Racecourse on 1st January 2022. They were 5-year-old Abbeyfeale who weakened and was pulled up during the “Tramore Medical Clinic Handicap Hurdle” and 5-year-old Bridge Street who finished first in a race. See below for more details.

There is a growing list of racing victims. Over 1,300 horses have lost their lives at racecourses and point to point races in Ireland since 2012 [these figures do not include the horses killed in training or those who do not make the grade and are destroyed behind-the-scenes].

Statistics have also emerged about the slaughter of race horses here in Ireland. In reply to Dail Questions from Paul Murphy TD, Minister Charlie McConalogue provided figures which show that from 2016 to 2022, a total of 13,484 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture-approved facilities. Thousands more have been exported to the UK for slaughter – as revealed in the shocking BBC documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai44cpAVI5M

Disturbing footage secretly filmed by Animal Aid – which is campaigning for a ban on horse racing – was featured in the documentary. It captured the shooting of horses from a distance (resulting in even worse suffering) and the shooting of distressed horses in view of others. Panorama reporter Darragh McIntyre stated that “the scenes are so upsetting, we can’t show most of them.”

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Comeragh Veterinary Clinic to stop sponsoring horse racing.

Tel: (051) 294 143
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComeraghVeterinary

Urge the Veterinary Council of Ireland to tell vets not to sponsor horse racing or greyhound racing.

Niamh Muldoon, CEO
Veterinary Council of Ireland
53 Lansdowne Road
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, D04 NY29
Tel: 01 668 4402
Email: niamh.muldoon@vci.ie; info@vci.ie

Confirmed DEAD: Horses raced at Tramore Racecourse

6-year-old Irish horse, Roseville Getaway who “weakened” during a race at Tramore Racecourse on 10 April 2022. Jockey – Mr P Power.

5-year-old Irish horse Rogues Getaway who “stumbled and fell” during an “Adare Manor” race at Tramore Racecourse on 10 April 2022. Jockey – Liam Quinlan.

5-year-old Irish horse, Abbeyfeale who weakened and was pulled up during the “Tramore Medical Clinic Handicap Hurdle” at Tramore Racecourse on 1st January 2022. Jockey – Jody McGarvey.

5-year-old Irish horse, Bridge Street who finished first in a race at Tramore Racecourse on 1st January 2022. Jockey – Jody McGarvey.

7-year-old Irish horse, Powerful Out who was last used in racing at Tramore Racecourse on 9 December 2021.

6-year-old Irish horse Pope Liam who “looked to go wrong” at Tramore Racecourse on 14 October 2021. Cause of death – “Struck into right foreleg tendon”.

8-year-old Irish horse Different Spot who was last used at Tramore Racecourse on 12 August 2021 in the “O’Neill’s Bar Rated Novice Hurdle” race.

9-year-old Irish horse Rueben James who was destroyed after suffering a broken leg in a race at Tramore Racecourse on 5 June 2021.

5-year-old horse The Cool Dude who suffered a fatal injury and died at Tramore racecourse on 5 June 2021.

7-year-old Irish horse, Gray Duke who was last used in racing at Tramore Racecourse on 4 June 2021 (finishing 9th).

7-year-old Irish horse Good Luck Hope who was pulled up at Tramore Racecourse on 19 April 2021. The horse suffered an injury and was destroyed.

An 11-year-old horse who “suffered a fatal injury” during a race at Tramore racecourse on 18 April.

6-year-old Irish horse Mystery Stowaway who fell and was fatally injured during the “Three Ireland Rated Novice Chase” race at Tramore Racecourse on 13 August 2020. Jockey – Danny Mullins.

Horses slaughtered at Department-approved slaughter facilities in Ireland

2022 (to-date): 305
2021: 1,105
2020: 1,549
2019: 2,218
2018: 2,526
2017: 2,829
2016: 2,952

Horse deaths at Irish racecourses

2022: 47 deaths (up to May 2022)
2021: 113 deaths
2020: 65 deaths
2019: 102 deaths
2018: 111 deaths
2017: 88 deaths
2016: 83 deaths
2015: 89 deaths
2014: 99 deaths
2013: 121 deaths
2012: 82 deaths

Horse deaths at foxhunt-organised point-to-point races

2021/2022: 19 deaths (up to May 2022)
2020/2021: 23 deaths (HRI previously stated that up to 11 May 2021, there had been 28 fatalities)
2019/2020: 13 deaths
2018/2019: 38 deaths
2017/2018: 28 deaths
2016/2017: 32 deaths
2015/2016: 36 deaths
2014/2015: 30 deaths
2013/2014: 42 deaths
2012/2013: 49 deaths

Irish Government grants to horse racing

2001 €47,110,330
2002 €54,452,651
2003 €51,348,800
2004 €53,531,200
2005 €54,680,000
2006 €56,047,000
2007 €58,539,000
2008 €61,028,800
2009 €54,502,000
2010 €47,411,200
2011 €45,830,000
2012 €45,032,000
2013 €44,016,000
2014 €43,376,000
2015 €54,400,000
2016 €59,200,000
2017 €64,000,000
2018 €64,000,000
2019 €67,200,000
2020 €67,200,000
2021 €76,800,000
2022 €70,400,000

Total: €1,240,104,981 / €1,240 million / €1.24 billion

Horse DEAD after suffering injury at Wexford Racecourse

Another horse has died after a race at Wexford Racecourse, it has emerged.

5-year-old Irish horse Rose Mahler “looked to go wrong” during the 3 mile “Think Print & Design Handicap Hurdle” race on 5 August 2022 and was pulled up.

A race report revealed that the horse suffered an injury and Horse Racing Ireland has confirmed that the horse is now DEAD

In another race later in the day at Wexford Racecourse, a horse name “First Touch” fell, with a vet stating that the “gelding was sore post-race, possibly as a result of his fall”. In the same race, horse “Arthur’s Quay” unseated a rider and was “found to have blood at both nostrils post race, possibly as a result of his fall”.

Also at Wexford Racecourse on the day, horse Alice O’Byrne weakened, with the jockey commenting that the horse “felt lame”.

The death of Rose Mahler comes almost exactly a year after a 6 August 2021 meeting at Wexford Racecourse during which 8-year-old “Staged Engagement” and 7-year-old “Arctic Comet” were pulled up in races and later confirmed dead.

A few weeks earlier on 16 June 2021, two other horses lost their lives at Wexford Racecourse. In an Adare Manor-sponsored race, Calthor “fell heavily” and was fatally injured and 11-year-old Our Dougal also fell and suffered a fatal injury.

A horse used in a race on 24 October 2021 is also dead – 6-year-old Get Crackin who was pulled up in what was his first race after a 336 days break.

Earlier this year on 1 April 2022, 8-year-old Mr Bercow weakened and finished fifth in the “Ire Wel Pallets Ltd Handicap Chase” at Wexford Racecourse. He was also confirmed dead.

These horses are among a growing list of racing victims. Over 1,300 horses have lost their lives at racecourses and point to point races in Ireland since 2012 [these figures do not include the horses killed in training or those who do not make the grade and are destroyed behind-the-scenes].

Statistics have also emerged about the slaughter of race horses here in Ireland. In reply to Dail Questions from Paul Murphy TD, Minister Charlie McConalogue provided figures which show that from 2016 to 2022, a total of 13,484 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture-approved facilities. Thousands more have been exported to the UK for slaughter – as revealed in the shocking BBC documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai44cpAVI5M

Disturbing footage secretly filmed by Animal Aid – which is campaigning for a ban on horse racing – was featured in the documentary. It captured the shooting of horses from a distance (resulting in even worse suffering) and the shooting of distressed horses in view of others. Panorama reporter Darragh McIntyre stated that “the scenes are so upsetting, we can’t show most of them.”

ACTION ALERT

Urge Think Print & Design to stop sponsoring horse racing.

Think Print & Design
Unit N, Strandfield Business Park,Kerlogue, Co. Wexford.
Tel: 053 91 80094
Email: info@thinkprint.ie; info@thinkpd.ie
https://www.facebook.com/thinkprintanddesign/
https://twitter.com/_thinkprint
https://www.instagram.com/thinkprintanddesign

Don’t bet on horse racing or attend racing events.

There are renewed calls on the government to stop supporting racing. Since 2001, the Irish Government has granted more than €1.5 Billion of scarce public funds to horse and greyhound racing, i.e. €1,240 million for horse racing and €309 million for greyhound racing.

Contact Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and demand an end to state funding to these two gambling activities which cause much suffering and death to animals. Tell them to redirect the funds to the many deserving charities, health/homeless/environmental groups, sports clubs, animal rescue centres, etc crying out for funding.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Paschal Donohoe TD
Minister for Finance
Email: paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie; minister@finance.gov.ie
Tel: 01 604 5626
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaschalDonohoe/
Tweet to @Paschald

Please sign and share the petitions

Irish Government: Stop giving millions of euros to horse racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euros-to-horse-racing

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

SEE ALSO:

Horses SUFFER and DIE at Galway Racecourse
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/07/22/horses-suffer-and-die-at-galway-racecourse/

113 horses killed at Irish racecourses in 2021
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/05/31/113-horses-killed-at-irish-racecourses-in-2021/

More than 1,100 race horses slaughtered in Ireland in 2021
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/05/13/more-than-1100-race-horses-slaughtered-in-ireland-in-2021/

Five horses killed at Punchestown racing festival
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/05/07/five-horses-killed-at-punchestown-festival/

Six horses dead following Fairyhouse racing festival
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2022/05/12/six-horses-dead-following-fairyhouse-racing-festival/

Horses slaughtered at Department-approved slaughter facilities in Ireland

2022 (to-date): 305
2021: 1,105
2020: 1,549
2019: 2,218
2018: 2,526
2017: 2,829
2016: 2,952

Horse deaths at Irish racecourses

2022: 47 deaths (up to May 2022)
2021: 113 deaths
2020: 65 deaths
2019: 102 deaths
2018: 111 deaths
2017: 88 deaths
2016: 83 deaths
2015: 89 deaths
2014: 99 deaths
2013: 121 deaths
2012: 82 deaths

Horse deaths at foxhunt-organised point-to-point races

2021/2022: 19 deaths (up to May 2022)
2020/2021: 23 deaths (HRI previously stated that up to 11 May 2021, there had been 28 fatalities)
2019/2020: 13 deaths
2018/2019: 38 deaths
2017/2018: 28 deaths
2016/2017: 32 deaths
2015/2016: 36 deaths
2014/2015: 30 deaths
2013/2014: 42 deaths
2012/2013: 49 deaths

Irish Government grants to horse racing

2001 €47,110,330
2002 €54,452,651
2003 €51,348,800
2004 €53,531,200
2005 €54,680,000
2006 €56,047,000
2007 €58,539,000
2008 €61,028,800
2009 €54,502,000
2010 €47,411,200
2011 €45,830,000
2012 €45,032,000
2013 €44,016,000
2014 €43,376,000
2015 €54,400,000
2016 €59,200,000
2017 €64,000,000
2018 €64,000,000
2019 €67,200,000
2020 €67,200,000
2021 €76,800,000
2022 €70,400,000

Total: €1,240,104,981 / €1,240 million / €1.24 billion

Irish Government grants to greyhound racing

2001 €11,777,583
2002 €13,613,163
2003 €12,837,200
2004 €13,382,800
2005 €13,670,000
2006 €14,012,000
2007 €14,572,000
2008 €15,257,000
2009 €13,625,600
2010 €11,852,800
2011 €11,460,000
2012 €11,258,000
2013 €11,004,000
2014 €10,844,000
2015 €13,600,000
2016 €14,800,000
2017 €16,000,000
2018 €16,000,000
2019 €16,800,000
2020 €16,800,000
2021 €19,200,000
2022 €17,600,000

Total: €309,966,146 / €309 million / €0.309 billion

Source: Department of Agriculture

Virgin Media urged to scrap plan to televise greyhound racing

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is disgusted to learn that Virgin Media is planning to televise greyhound racing next month.

According to a notice on the Irish Greyhound Breeders Federation website, “the Derby semi-finals and final will be screened on Virgin Media”, with coverage from Shelbourne Park stadium presented by ex-bookie/Fine Gael Minister/Tonight Show host Ivan Yates. The derby is sponsored by Boylesports, a company which also shamefully sponsors cruel hare coursing.

Earlier this year, Virgin Media was urged not to contemplate broadcasting greyhound racing and told that “the public wants to see greyhound racing ended and not given a platform on national television.”

In an appeal to the station, we referred to RTE’s award-winning “Greyhounds Running for Their Lives” documentary which exposed the horrors of greyhound racing, including the behind-the-scenes killing every year of around 6,000 greyhounds.

We highlighted that there is growing public opposition to greyhound racing, plummeting attendance at races and ongoing protests outside tracks, including at Shelbourne Park stadium.

“Greyhounds suffer and die at tracks and Shelbourne Park is one of the worst,” we stated. “At least 238 greyhounds suffered injuries there and 62 died or were killed by a track vet over the past seven years alone, sickening Greyhound Racing Ireland statistics show. Among the victims are a greyhound who died at the track in September 2021 (on the evening of the BoyleSports Irish Derby) after suffering a ‘severe fracture of the neck’, another who collapsed and died in December 2020 with a “haemorrhage into the abdomen from a rupture of the aorta”, a greyhound who died of a heart attack after a race and another who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone popped out.”

At tracks around Ireland since 2014, at least 2,853 greyhounds suffered injuries and 971 died or were killed. That includes 351 injuries and 154 deaths last year – the highest annual number of deaths at tracks since records began.

Responding to our appeal, Virgin Media TV Managing Director Paul Farrell stated: “I note your concerns and objections to greyhound racing as outlined in your recent email. I also note many of the concerns have been taken on board by the industry and incorporated into the recent code of practice under their General Welfare Principles. Greyhound racing is a publicly funded activity that is funded via the public purse on an annual basis and therefore I would respectfully suggest your concerns would be best directed to the relevant public representatives and bodies.“

“Virgin Media Television is a commercial broadcaster, and we rely totally on commercial revenues to support our business and our employees, as such we do not see it as our role to pre-judge or limit the range and choice of content we provide across our channels,” he added.

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Virgin Media to scrap plans to broadcast the Greyhound Racing Derby semi-finals and final in September.

Paul Farrell,
Managing Director, Virgin Media Television

Tony Hanway
CEO, Virgin Media Ireland

Email: paul.farrell@virginmedia.ie; Tony.Hanway@virginmedia.ie

Telephone Virgin Media: +353 (0)1 245 8000

Replace Puck Fair goat with sculpture – Rachel Pilkington

“I’d like to propose the commissioning of a piece of sculpture that will replace the outdated tradition of using a wild goat & demonstrate progress and compassion going forwards while simultaneously celebrating & supporting local #Kerry artists” – Rachel Pilkington (Irish Actor & Animal Rights Activist) #PuckFair #SaveTheArts

Three Ireland urged to stop sponsoring horse racing

Mobile network company Three Ireland is being urged to stop sponsoring horse racing.

At the “Three Ireland Rated Novice Chase” race at Tramore Racecourse yesterday (5.30pm, 11 August 2022), horses were forced to run in hot temperatures during the current heatwave.

During the 1.8-mile €6,785 race, two horses fell and another unseated a rider. Horse Racing Ireland footage from the race shows horses being whipped across the finishing line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0VJvTMPGY4&t=38s

“Three Ireland Rated Novice Chase” races have previously taken place at Tramore in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – all with over €10,000 in prize money.

Three Ireland has continued to sponsor the race despite the fact that at its 2020 race, a 6-year-old Irish horse named Mystery Stowaway died after suffering a fatal injury.

This unfortunate horse is one of many victims of horse racing. Over 1,300 horses have lost their lives at racecourses and point to point races in Ireland since 2012 [these figures do not include the horses killed in training or those who do not make the grade and are destroyed behind-the-scenes].

Statistics have also emerged about the slaughter of race horses here in Ireland. In reply to Dail Questions from Paul Murphy TD, Minister Charlie McConalogue provided figures which show that from 2016 to 2022, a total of 13,484 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered at Department of Agriculture-approved facilities. Thousands more have been exported to the UK for slaughter – as revealed in the shocking BBC documentary “The Dark Side of Horse Racing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai44cpAVI5M

Disturbing footage secretly filmed by Animal Aid – which is campaigning for a ban on horse racing – was featured in the documentary. It captured the shooting of horses from a distance (resulting in even worse suffering) and the shooting of distressed horses in view of others. Panorama reporter Darragh McIntyre stated that “the scenes are so upsetting, we can’t show most of them.”

ACTION ALERT

Join us in urging Three Ireland to show compassion for the horses and end its support for racing.

Robert Finnegan
Managing Director, Three Ireland
Email: robert.finnegan@three.ie
Twitter https://twitter.com/ThreeIreland
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/threeireland/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/3Ireland/

 

CRUEL PUCK FAIR: Goat to be returned to elevated platform

The wild goat, cruelly captured from a County Kerry mountainside, and held captive as part of the Puck Fair in Killorglin, is to be returned to an elevated platform after being taken down this morning.

ICABS has learned that the unfortunate animal who is confined to a cramped cage will be hoisted back up onto the platform “at about 6pm” – this despite temperatures in Killorglin forecast to be 25 degrees at 6pm, 24 degrees at 7pm, 23 degrees at 8pm and 21 degrees at 9pm. https://www.met.ie/weather-forecast/killorglin-kerry

The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has been urged to enforce the Animal Health and Welfare Act which makes it an offence of cruelty to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The goat was captured from the wild weeks ago and held in captivity since. On Wednesday, on the first day of the 3-day Puck Fair, he was paraded through the town to the sound of loud cheers and a blaring siren. At 6pm, he was lifted up on to the platform.

It was reported that, following a growing public outcry and “veterinary advice”, the animal had been taken down this morning at around 11am.

Minister Charlie McConalogue has been told that regardless of the life-threatening heatwave temperatures, the appalling treatment of the goat breaches animal welfare legislation.

In an appeal to the Minister to act, we stated: “As you are aware, the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 makes it an offence of animal cruelty to ‘do, or fail to do, anything or cause or permit anything to be done to an animal that causes unnecessary suffering to, or endanger the health or welfare of, an animal’, with ‘unnecessary suffering’ defined as ‘pain, distress or suffering (whether physical or mental) that in its kind or degree, or in its object, or in the circumstances in which it occurs, is unreasonable or unnecessary’.”

Catching a wild goat, removing him from his herd and familiar territory, manhandling him, holding him in captivity, transporting him through a town full of cheering festival-goers, caging him and hoisting him up into the air onto a platform above a noisy area where crowds of people are congregating and partying until at least 3am when the pubs shut, undoubtedly causes unnecessary suffering and distress to the goat.

“The use of the goat in the Puck Fair is therefore in breach of the Animal Health and Welfare Act and you, as Minister with responsibility for animal welfare, have a duty to act to stop it,” Minister McConalogue has been told.

“Allowing Puck Fair organisers to keep an animal in a heat-radiating metal cage in the middle of a noisy festival site during a status yellow heatwave makes a mockery of our animal welfare laws,” we added in an email to his office. “The failure to stop this reflects poorly on the Department and on the Minister and is causing significant damage to Ireland’s image around the world. We again call on the Department to enforce the legislation by seizing the goat and releasing him back into the wild where he belongs.”

Diageo – the company behind top-tier Puck Fair sponsors, Guinness and Rockshore – is also being urged to act to save the goat from the ordeal.

“This is certain to cause great stress to the goat and will clearly breach the ‘five freedoms’ which underpin animal welfare legislation, including freedom from discomfort, freedom to express normal behaviour and freedom from fear and distress,” we stated in an email to Diageo. “There are additional fears for the welfare of the goat this year, given the extreme heatwave that is expected over the coming days. The goat will be confined in a metal cage which will absorb the heat and put the animal at risk of heat stroke and death.”

On its website, the festival organisers dismiss concerns about the treatment of the goat, stating: “It is ludicrous to suggest that a mountain goat would have a problem being out in all weathers and patently ignorant to suggest he is afraid of heights! Before the Puck returns to the wild he is again examined by a vet, and last year’s vet confirmed there was no physical or psychological damage in his expert opinion.”

On Tuesday, and again today, the cruelty of the puck fair was highlighted on RTE Radio 1’s Liveline, with presenter Joe Duffy noting that the goat is a victim and listeners calling for the animal to be released. The festival organisers are being encouraged to replace the live goat with an inanimate replica. Listen to the Liveline show at https://youtu.be/eqIYefcB5Xw and https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/liveline/

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Urge Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue to intervene to stop Puck Fair from caging a wild goat.

Charlie McConalogue
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: 01 618 3199 or 01 607 2000
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Complain to Diageo about its sponsorship of the Puck Fair.
Email: consumercare.GBandIreland@diageo.com; customer.service@diageo.com

Contact the Puck Fair committee
Email: PuckFairInfo@gmail.com
Tel: +353 (0)66 976 2366