Over 30,000 people sign against hunting with hounds

national | animal rights | press release Thursday October 14, 2010 09:11 by Bernie Wright - association of Hunt Saboteurs bigbrownrat at gmail dot com AOHS Po box 4734. D 1 0872651720

Petitions handed into Dept of Agriculture to show opposition to hunts in ireland

Over 30,000 people have signed our petitions on the streets, they have said no to hunting with hounds-
ALSO 64% of the population now want a ban on bloodsports!!!!
THE STAG HUNT HAS BEEN BANNED….NOW LETS GET RID OF THE OTHER BLOODSPORTS!!

WE keep fighting for hunted animals

WE INVITE THE PRESS TO COME MEET OUR 2 human-size rabbits and a fox who will be presenting our signatures to the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Kildare street ON WEDNESDAY 13th at 12.45pm.
We ask the Irish Government why are fox, hare and other cruel and archaic bloodsports allowed to continue.? A major opinion poll carried out by Millward Brown, revealed that 68 per cent of those surveyed said foxhunting was cruel, and 64 per cent wanted an outright ban.
• There are almost 300 foxhunts in Ireland, each hunting 2 to 5 times a week. The main season is from November until late March, although some have been known to carry on until the start of May.
• All hunts also 'cub hunt' (hunt young fox cubs to train new hounds) for 2/3 months before the start of the main season. The hunt itself will gather in late morning, although and 'earth stopper' will have been out at dawn to block up any known earth's, drains and badger setts, so that foxes returning from a night's foraging will be exposed above ground. The huntsman will lead the hounds to a wood or covert where there is a known earth. The hounds are sent into the woods to flush out any foxes. As all underground escape routes are blocked the fox is forced to run to escape the hounds. Riders positioned around the wood will 'holloa' to the huntsman to let him know the direction the fox has run.
• Foxhounds are bred to be slower than foxes, but have far better stamina. Thus, the fox will initially out-pace the hounds, but tire quicker, allowing the foxes to eventually catch up with it. It is almost always an older, experienced hound who will catch the fox on the run, snapping at any past of the fox to slow it down. The rest of the pack then catches up and the fox is torn to pieces.
• If the fox manages to find refuge in an unblocked earth, the hunt employ terriermen who will put their terriers down the earth to force the fox into the open to be re-hunted, or attack the fox underground while the men dig down through the soil to catch the terrified animal. Once they have dug out the fox, the terriermen are supposed to shoot it, but many will simply give it a blow with a spade. It is not unusual (although against fox hunting 'rules') for the fox to be thrown alive to the waiting hounds.
• Bernie Wright. Press Officer AOHS
• 0872651720
• John Fitzgerald , press Officer CACS
• 0863271179