5,000 attend pro-hunting rally

star-pants

Guys, have had a few reported posts about the following
people being ignorant
people attacking posters not the post
people trying to rile up Irish people/comments about Irish horses

Can we keep it on track please as I don't want to have to start handing out infractions/bans

Whispered

Sorry convert, you misunderstand me. I was referring to the below post which you thanked.

johngalway wrote: »

If you're happy to be associated with people who break the law, who advocate criminal damage and violence against people, who dig up dead bodies, good for you.

Some think all the anti hunting side are whiter than white, truth is they're not. I don't see many hunters having to don balaclavas when they march.

A bit of a non issue really, but you thanked the post and You then went on to say that it's unfair to tar everyone with the same brush. I was just pointing out that the pro hunting side has done the same in the thread. Not that you said it. (if YOU reread MY post )

Do you think that the hounds and horses are well kept and cared for (I'm not insinuating they are not btw) I've asked about their welfare a few times and I think it got lost in the rest of the conversation.

I'm asking because I'm thinking along the lines of greyhound racing. The racing dogs are well kept, until they can no longer run fast enough and a lot are horribly dumped. Or the thousands of puppies that are killed every year. Honestly - does this happen a lot in hunting circles? Or would it be a less competitive type of sport where a slow/older dog can just toddle behind the pack. (ha I sound so niave!)

Doctor Evil - I think that legislation should come in for puppy breeding full stop. Not just for hunting packs. Wouldn't it solve so many problems.

Have any of the hunters ever seen the film "the Belstone fox". My God, it scarred me for life!

Discodog

PaulB91 wrote: »

my thinking on this is as follows, in a hundred years or less (personally i reckon within the next 50) horse and hound hunting of all living creatures will be banned - it's just a matter of time - unfortunately some wildlife will still be hunted, maimed and killed in the mean time

Within the next 50 - yes but I suspect sooner than that. Greyhound racing is dying in the UK primarily because people have become aware of the consequences. There have recently been major protests in Spain against Bull fighting. Even now I wonder what the result would be of a referendum to ban hunting. The internet has changed everything. Nothing can be hidden anymore & virtually everyone carries a video camera/phone. The rest of Europe is embracing animal welfare. Many countries have recently improved legislation & Ireland is lagging well behind.

The pro hunting lobby have to justify terrorising & killing an animal purely for pleasure. In the old Ireland that was easy but everything in & about Ireland is changing.

johngalway

Discodog wrote: »

You are the one who is criminalising people who voice their objection to hunting

You fail to mention the "criminal" hunters who, according to one farmer & also a land valuer on the RTE frontline, trespass on farm land & cause damage running to thousands of euro. As you know an increasing number of farmers will not allow the hunt onto their land. Why do they do this if hunting controls foxes & is beneficial to farming ?.

In any event the only hunt that it likely to be banned is the Ward Union. They go one step further in that they breed/farm the deer so that they can be hunted. So this has nothing to do with vermin control. The animals are bred to be chased to the point of exhaustion purely for pleasure.

Would you mind quoting me where I criminalized anyone please? It's public record the desecration of graves and also wearing of balaclavas on the anti side.

I've posted my opinions before on where the hunt should and shouldn't go. Look it up and educate yourself before you start trying to paint a picture of me without knowing one iota about me. The hunt should go where they have permission, and not where they don't.

People on the Frontline programme, since you brought it up, were some of those marching with those in balaclavas. It was in that very same programme.

Sorry, you won't be pulling the wool over anyone elses eyes here. Ward Hunt one day, something else another day. That's fact, not fiction. Trying a softly softly pre crash FF tactic of mollycoddling people just won't work.

No thanks.

Discodog

johngalway wrote: »

If you're happy to be associated with people who break the law, who advocate criminal damage and violence against people, who dig up dead bodies, good for you.

You are clearly implying that anyone who opposes hunting is associating with criminals. I have read many of your posts on the hunting forums. You enjoy shooting including foxes. What you do for personal pleasure is up to you & your conscious.

The Ward Hunt is totally different in that it breeds Stags purely to hunt them. The thin edge of the wedge argument is pointless. My neighbour wants to build a house for his daughter. Should I object because it could result in lots of houses being built down my lane ?. You have to judge law on what is proposed now & not what might be proposed in years to come.

Discodog

In Febuary 2009 one meat company was slaughtering 100 Irish horses per week. God knows what the figure must be now. Obviously there are good horse owners but Ireland as a nation we are gaining an appalling reputation.

Many race horses that were owned by syndicates are being killed because the members can no longer afford or no longer wish to pay for their up keep. These were animals that were bought for financial gain as potential investments not as beloved pets.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/feb/15/slow-racehorses-fed-to-the-lions-in-dublin-zoo/

convert

helena.ryan wrote: »

Do you think that the hounds and horses are well kept and cared for (I'm not insinuating they are not btw) I've asked about their welfare a few times and I think it got lost in the rest of the conversation.

Yes, I do think that hounds and horses are well cared for. If horses aren't well cared for then people who hunt with mounted packs cannot go hunting. If the hounds are not cared for then there is no hunt.

Discodog

[QUOTE=EGAR
Oh and let's not forget the fallout for rescue from the hounds. I have taken in countless old, decrepit, mangy and stray foxhounds. In some cases they were chained in pairs and near death when found. No one ever came looking for them and even the vets shrugged their shoulders: "Ah well, the hunt was 'round."
[/QUOTE]

EGAR has been around for quite a while & I suspect that her experiences with Fox Hounds are echoed by other rescues. Hounds are like any other animal that exist for a purpose. Once they can no longer hunt then they are of no further use.

As they have been kept as a pack in kennels rather than as pets they can require a lot of work to rehome. How often do you see a Foxhound being walked as a pet ?. It would be nice to think that the Hunt's would repay the work of the Hounds, that provide their sport, by looking after them into old age but the evidence suggests that they don't.