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Autumn/Winter 2005Irish Council Against Blood Sports Campaign Newsletter
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THE WARD Union deer huntgot their licence for the 2004-05 season, despite a strongcase for refusal from NationalParks and Wildlife ServiceRegional and DeputyRegional Managers.
In documents obtained byICABS under the Freedom ofInformation Act, the thenEnvironment Minister, MartinCullen, was told that “the licenceapplied for can not be issued”.The reason given was that theapplication was not relevant tothe NPWS department becausethe deer used by the hunt couldnot be viewed as wildlife asdefined by the Wildlife Act.The Wildlife (Amendment) Act2000 defines wildlife as faunaand flora, with fauna being fur-ther defined as “all wild animals[including] an individual of a pop-ulation which primarily lives inde-pendent of human husbandry”.It’s a definition which clearlydoes not cover the Ward Union’sdeer - animals which are bred incaptivity, kept in an enclosureand transported around in a live-stock trailer.Referring to the Ward Union’sdeer, one NPWS official stated ina memo that: “the deer are high-ly dependent on human hus-bandry...the deer are not wildand are owned by the club...thedeer are captive deer.” TheWildlife Act does not includesuch deer, he stated.ICABS has continuously con-tended that the licensing of theWard Union hunt under theWildlife Act is illegal due to thefact that the deer are not wild.We maintain that, as domesticat-ed creatures, the deer are eligi-ble for protection under theProtection of Animals Act whichstates that it is an offence tocause unnecessary suffering toany animal.Responding to a Dail Questionfrom Tony Gregory, TD at the end
Ward Union licenseddespite NPWS advice
Adeer slips and falls to the ground after being chased intoa Co Meath farmyard by Ward Union hunters and hounds.
Please write to Minister DickRoche and ask him to stoplicensing the Ward Unionhunt. Tell him that the WildlifeAct deals exclusively withwild animals (hence its title)and the deer referred to inSection 26 are therefore obvi-ously wild.
Minister Dick RocheDepartment of the Environment,Heritage and Local GovernmentCustom House, Dublin 1.Tel: 01-8882403Fax: 01-8788640Email: dick_roche@environ.ie
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