Time for Ireland to rise against bloodsports
Rise, the self-appointed guardian of the Irish countryside, is shaking its rattler again. In response to the incoming Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012, which will finally pull Ireland's animal protection laws into a modern era, this organisation is planning monster rallies to express outrage at this attempt to protect the non-human members of our society.
Hellfire and damnation is being promised for politicians who support any attempt to promote the animal rights or welfare agenda. Given that the pro-bloodsports agenda is a beaten docket, politicians are well aware of the general public's rejection of animal abuse in all its forms, and so won't lose much sleep over losing a few votes.
As for Rise, they are now attaching themselves to the concerns of rural dwellers in order to save their activities. Rural issues like bad roads, closure of post offices and withdrawal of banking services now find themselves part of the pro-hunting argument. By extension, those campaigning on these issues have been suddenly conscripted into the membership of a national pro-bloodsports organisation.
Given that the vast majority of rural dwellers do not support bloodsports and do not want animal abuse taking place in their communities, it requires a great arrogance to believe that the hunting issue marks a rural-urban divide.
The Irish hunting community are working overtime to create this impression. By drawing in non-hunting issues into the hunting argument, they want to be seen as the saviour of the Irish countryside. In return, all they want is to be allowed to abuse wildlife for a day's fun.
Those who live and work in rural Ireland do indeed need to rise – to rise up against this duplicitous attempt by the Irish hunting community to draw them into supporting hunting and killing wildlife for fun by proxy.
John Tierney
campaigns director, Association of Hunt Saboteurs
