When hunts attack pets

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WHEN HUNTS ATTACK PETS

An Irish Council Against Blood Sports Report



Hunt hounds attack beloved

dog during woodland walk January 2013

A pet dog is fighting for its life after being attacked by a pack of fox-hunting hounds. The sickening incident occurred while the dog wasbeing brought for a walk in a Coillte forest in Carlow. ICABS has urgedboth the Gardai and Coillte to investigate and take action against thoseresponsible.

Interviewed on CKLR Radio, the dog's owner described how the hunt houndspulled the small terrier off its lead and proceeded to maul and tear it apart. Theattack took place last Sunday 20th January at Bahana Woods, a public Coillteforest near St Mullins in Co Carlow.

CKLR reported that the hounds were from the Carlow Farmer Hunt and thata representative of the hunt "confirmed that the incident happened".

The dog's owner condemned foxhunting and questioned how anyone could

consider it a sport. Hear the full interview at www.tinyurl.com/cklr-dogattack

ICABS is urging the Gardai to take action. We pointed to the Control of DogsAct which makes it clear that dogs must be kept "under effectual control".

He was in the middle of us onthe lead and they attacked

him. They pulled him off thelead and tore him apart.



BEFORE

AFTER



Family distraught after pet

attacked, killed by houndsJournal.ie - 1st December 2013

A family in Ashford, Co Wicklow say they’ve been left shocked after theirpet dog was attacked by a pack of hunting hounds yesterday afternoon.

It happened at around 4pm when a hunt by the Bray Harriers club was takingplace in the area. The family pet, a hypoallergenic dog named ‘Isabelle’ died

from her injuries.

Club Secretary with Bray Harriers David Power confirmed that the incident hap-pened, but said he had no further details and wasn’t at the scene himself.

“The dogs came in in two packs, one on either side of the house,” Isabelle’sowner Kayleigh told TheJournal.ie. “They were totally out of control. Theychased her until they caught her and basically savaged her.”

Kayleigh said that her brother and her father, who is in his 50s, tried to separatethe animals, along with members of the hunting party. Once the hounds werecalled off, the wounded dog ran into a nearby field. She was brought back to thehouse by one of the hunters. A vet who was with the hunting party briefly tend-ed to her, but she died from from her injuries inside the family home.

“There were about four riders on horses I think. Another two horses without rid-ers,” Kayleigh said. “It was chaos. They were basically trespassing on our prop-erty.

Kayleigh, who has started a Facebook campaign calling for stricter regulation ofhunting, says residents weren’t informed by the club that the hunt would be tak-ing place in the area this weekend.

On the Bray Harriers website, a hunt listed for yesterday is still labelled this after-noon as ‘TBC’ and no location is given.

"They caught her andbasically savaged her"



“That’s the most shocking part. No-one was aware of it. That dogs like this canrun uncontrolled on roads and on private property is just incredible.”

Kayleigh’s Facebook page calls for the “shocking and barbaric sport” to bemore strictly regulated, and for tough new laws to be introduced to protectpeople and other animals.

In the short-term, she said, the Bray Harriers and clubs like them shouldinform communities in areas where they plan to hold meetings.

She said that two of the riders had spoken to the family in the aftermath of the

incident, apologised, and offered compensation for what had happened.“What can you say though? It won’t bring Isabelle back.”

She said they told her they would be back in contact today, but as of this after-noon, the family hadn’t heard anything.

According to its website, Bray Harriers have around 100 members who are“mostly from the south Dublin and north Wicklow areas” and they carry outhunts each Wednesday and Saturday from October until March. They also

held a meet last Wednesday, while last weekend they were in the Roundwoodarea.

Visit the Justice for Isabelle website at www.facebook.com/justiceforisabelle

Beloved pet, Isabelle, was attackedand killed by a pack of hunt hounds

Photo: facebook.com/justiceforisabelle



Cat brutally killed by hunt houndsMarch 2011

Another cat has been brutally killed by a pack of hunting hounds. Theincident, which took place at the end of January, is the latest in a grow-ing list involving pets being attacked during hunts.

The distraught and outraged owner told ICABS that when she heard yelpingand animal cries in her garden, she looked out the window and was shockedto see hounds chasing something into a hedge.

"I then saw a hunter come in my front gate and run up the lawn to where his

dogs were going wild at the trees," she recalls. "I remember feeling rooted tothe ground unable to believe what I was seeing, I knew they were savagingsome poor animal, it was only when the hunter bent down and picked up mydead family pet cat by the hind legs that I realised in further horror what hadhappened - my beloved cat had been cruelly savaged to death, purelybecause the poor thing was too old to run away quick enough."

She says that the hunter then ran off with the dead cat and that pleas for thebody to be returned have been ignored.

Horseback hunters in front of her property "fobbed my tears off saying noth-ing had happened".

After the incident was reported to the Gardai and the hunt was cautioned, amember of the hunt came to apologise and, to add insult to injury, left a boxof chocolates for the absent cat owner.

"If I had been there," she says, "he would have had the chocolates thrownback in his face."



Elderly couple left traumatised

after hounds maul cat to deathFebruary 2009

An elderly couple in Meath hasbeen left traumatised following avicious attack on their 18-year-old cat. The unfortunate animalwas mauled by a pack of huntinghounds as it lay sleeping in the

sun. The hounds then "ranthrough the house, frighteningfamily members and causingchaos".

According to a report in the TheMeath Chronicle, the owners of thecat are heartbroken after 'Hoppy’,their three-legged pet, was "torn toshreds".

“It is heart-breaking," ownerRosemary Smith was quoted assaying. "Hoppy was a real pet and loved to lie in the sun. She had only threelegs since she was injured when she was very young.”

The Chronicle describes how 14 hounds surrounded the house beforedescending on the cat. Four of the dogs then ran into the house through thefront hall and kitchen.

“I met one of the dogs in the hall and I was afraid it would snap at me," MrsSmith said. "My husband is 90 years-old and it was lucky they didn’t knockhim over.”

She added: "My son’s three little grandchildren are usually here on a Sundayand could have been running around outside. What would have happened tothem?”

Mrs Smith told the paper that she was annoyed that a group of men with gunswho were hunting with the dogs hadn’t bothered to call up their hounds. She

said she wanted to make people aware of what happened and warned thatthe situation could have been much worse if there had been children in thevicinity.

The remains of Hoppy, the unfortunatecat that was brutally attacked and killed

by hunting hounds in Meath.



Another cat brutally attacked

and killed during huntJanuary 2009

A woman watched in horror as a pack of hunt hounds savaged a pet catin her garden, the Wexford People has reported. This is the latest in agrowing list of shocking pet fatalities during hunts.

In its front page coverage, the People newspaper reported:

"The family cat was torn to pieces by the hounds which crossed the mainWexford/Kilmore Road following the scent of a fox. 'They came up the drive-way and pinned the cat against the garage door and massacred it', said Bredawho went to investigate when she heard the dogs howling. 'They tore it apart.What I'm trying to get across is the absolute cruelty of it. It was a poor dumbanimal not doing any harm to anyone', she said. Afterwards, the end wall ofher house was splattered with the cat's blood. Breda said she couldn't bear tolook at the dead animal."

The report added that the Kilmore woman complained in person to the Masterof the Killinick Harriers and that he apologised for what happened. Her hus-band, she said, "won't allow the hunt to cross their land in future".

ICABS has renewed its call on all landowners to keep hunts out. If you are alandowner, please download and display a "No Hunting" sign. For more infor-mation click on "Farmers" at www.banbloodsports.com

They came up the drivewayand pinned the cat against thegarage door and massacred it



Limerick cat killed during huntJanuary 2007

A hunt hound was seen entering a private garden and killing a cat,according to a report in the Limerick Leader. The creature was found bydistraught neighbours during a harrier hunt on St Stephen's Day.

Quoted in the article, local woman Mary Cooke said neighbours saw the catbeing killed by the hound. "The cat was very old and her hind legs were goneand she couldn't run," Ms Cook said. "I am hardly able to sleep at night think-ing about it. It is revolting."

Although a hunt spokesperson tried to claim to the newspaper that hounds"would never follow a cat", it emerged that members of the hunt "approachedthe owners of the cat and apologised for the incident".

ICABS has also been told that an attempt was made to remove the dead catfrom the scene following the incident. "I shouted at the hunt follower four timesto come back," an eyewitness said. "He was letting on he was taking the catto the vet (at this stage the cat was dead). Some of the hunt crowd werelaughing."

Amy, the cat who was found dead during a hunt. Localssaw a hound coming into a garden and killing her.



THIS IS WHAT HUNTDOGS DO TO FOXES

The threat hunt hounds pose to

pets and public safety can beseen in the mangled remains ofeach of the thousands of foxesviolently mauled and torn apart



Girl left in tears after pet cat

ripped apart by foxhounds2005

An eight-year-old girl was left in tears after she learned that her belovedpet cat, Mitzi, was ripped apart by a pack of hunt hounds.

The appalling incident took place on St Patrick's Day when hounds from theBanbridge-based Iveagh Hunt ran riot in a residential area in Lurgan, CoDown.

The vicious attack was witnessed by local children out playing. They were hor-rified to see the dogs coming into a back garden, descending on the cat andmauling it to death. The Belfast Telegraph reported that the youngsters "sawthe dogs in a complete frenzy and heard the squeals of the cat as she wasattacked".

In a report in the Lurgan Mail, an official ofthe hunt tried to dismiss the eye witness

account of what occurred. He was quoted assaying that "it's only children who saw it", asif their word didn't matter.

The Iveagh Hunt's bad behaviour didn't stopthere, according to the newspaper report.They also allegedly trespassed on to farmland. The son of a local farmer told the paperhow the hunt "ploughed through the fieldsand pulled down fence posts".

"[They] came up here and opened all thegates and yards," he went on to say. "A cowand a calf at my father's yard just down theroad escaped for about an hour. They leftmud all over the roads and then just left."

Meanwhile, an Iveagh Hunt joint master andRonan Gorman of Countryside Allianceattempted to pour oil on troubled waters.

The latter claimed that "the hounds wouldn'tordinarily chase a cat never mind attack."

A Lurgan Mail photo show-ing a sad Zara Spence withher mother, Audrey. Zara isseen here holding the bas-

ket which her cat, Mitzi,

used before being brutallykilled by foxhounds.



And he carried on in this incredible vein, stating that "When in full cry, whichisn't frequently, [hounds] are obviously difficult to call back. The cat must haverun across their path." Added to this was another outrageous statement fromthe hunt's joint master who declared that "the hounds are not vicious, they're

just like any other pet."

As for their claims that foxhounds are pets and attacks like this are rare, thisis certainly not the case. Foxhounds are trained to hunt as a pack and kill.There are several documented cases of hunt hounds attacking domestic pets.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, an apology from the Iveagh hunt was sub-sequently issued for the cat killing.

But, of course, it was no consolation to the distraught girl whose pet suffered

the same fate as that of the wildlife which normally fall victim to packs ofhounds.

Her mother, Audrey Spence, described the gruesome state of the unfortunatecat as follows: "Its legs were pulled off, head pulled off, and insides rippedout."

Responding to the incident, the Ulster SPCA's CEO, Stephen Philpott,renewed the group's call for a hunt ban.

"The need for a total ban on hunting with dogs has been brutally outlined bythe obscene spectacle of a child's pet being torn to shreds in the sanctuary ofan urban garden," he stated.

The demand for a hunt ban was echoed by Ms Spence. She said: "Before this,hunting would not have annoyed me but now, I can't tolerate it at all. It is anabsolutely disgusting, cruel sport that should be banned immediately." sly, butsuffered severe injuries.

Its legs were pulled off,head pulled off and

insides ripped out



Galway dog lucky to be alive

following attack by foxhounds2002

Meet the dog that survived an horrific attack by a pack of foxhounds.

The sheep dog, owned by a farmer in County Galway, is very lucky to be alive.As our picture shows the unfortunate animal suffered injuries to its hind quar-ters, its back and also its paws.

Thanks to a week of veterinary attention, the badly shaken dog is back on hisfeet.

The incident is said to have taken place during a hunt meeting just beforeChristmas.

It remains unconfirmed whether the hunt in question were trespassing on theland on which the attack took place. Regardless, here we have yet anotherinstance of a hunt being more of a threat to the farming community than foxesever could be.

Survivor: The Galway farmer's sheep dog thatwas mauled by foxhounds.

P h o t o : T o m H

a r d i m a n



The risks hunt

hounds pose topublic safety



Concern that hunt hound attacks

"could result in death of a child"March 2009

The Vice-President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Familyand Child Protection has called on Minister Brendan Smith to ban hunt-ing with hounds. Referring to recent attacks on pets and fearsexpressed for the safety of children, the Independent MEP for Munster,Kathy Sinnott, said she was "greatly concerned that, if action is nottaken, such attacks could result in the death of a child."

Kathy Sinnott's move was prompted by an ICABS alert to politicians in whichwe highlighted the continuing killing of pets by packs of hounds. We flaggedmedia reports which reveal the suffering caused to pets, the distress experi-enced by pet owners and fears for the safety of children. The latest incidentsaw an elderly couple traumatised after they witnessed their cat being vicious-ly mauled to death.

The 77-year-old Meath resident expressed fears for herself and her 90-year-old husband after some of the hounds ran into their house following the kill.

Her daughter stated: "If my mother's great grand children had been in thehouse or the garden, they're only tiny tots, [the dogs] could have killed them."

"I am concerned that the lack of control of hounds for blood sports could resultin further death and destruction," Kathy Sinnott stated in her correspondenceto the Agriculture Minister. "The most recent episode involving hound brutali-ty is the savage killing of an elderly couple's cat in Meath. Similar events haveoccurred in Wexford, Limerick, and Northern Ireland. Farm animals have fre-quently been the victims of similar attacks. I urge you to work to ensure thatthe Animal Health and Welfare Bill bans the use of dogs for such violence."

This is just the latest incident which has left a pet dead or severely injured.Other past victims have included farm animals and humans (a hunt servantwas killed by hounds while a householder in Leinster was badly bitten whencornered in her garage). This is not the first time either that fears have beenexpressed for the safety of children.



Concerns for safety of children

after cat attacked in gardenExtracts from a Limerick Leader report by Deirdre McGrath

(12 January 2007)

Mary Cooke from Ballyclough said she is deeply upset at the death of a13-year-old cat called Amy, who she claims was killed by houndsbelonging to the Limerick Harriers who were hunting in the area on StStephen's Day.

Amy was a domestic pet owned by Ms Cooke's neighbours, who weren'taware that a hunt would be in progress on the day. "I am very upset. Thehounds went into a private garden. The cat was very old and her hind legswere gone and she couldn't run. I am hardly able to sleep at night thinkingabout it. It is revolting," said Ms Cooke, who often looked after Amy when herneighbours were away. She said that neighbours witnessed the cat beingkilled by a hound.

Ms Cooke said that many of her neighbours are concerned for the welfare ofyoung children who may be playing in gardens and faced with a pack ofhounds. She said that the Limerick Harriers should give people clear prior toevery the hunt so that they can protect their children and domestic animalswho may be at risk.

"People should be warned. There are a lot of new houses in the area. Thereare many people from the city living here and do not know anything about thehunt," she said.



Neighbours are concerned for thewelfare of young children who may

be playing in gardens and facedwith a pack of hounds

If my mother's great grand childrenhad been in the house or the

garden, they're only tiny tots, thehounds could have killed them.

Irish Independent, February 2009

Limerick Leader, 12 January 2007

Hunt hounds are not only a

threat to wildlife, livestock and pets but also to humans



Woman "severely injured" after

being bitten by hunt houndsMarch 2007

A woman who was bitten and gnawed by a maurading pack of hunthounds was left suffering from "considerable personal and psychologi-cal injuries". A solicitor's letter seen by ICABS details the horrendousincident which allegedly took place on private property during a hunt inIreland.

The woman was "severely injured as a result of being attacked by a pack ofhounds", the solicitor's letter outlines, adding that "the hounds were, on theoccasion, in the process of pursuing [an animal] when they strayed into thegarage area of a house adjacent to a field where the hunt was going on."

"They proceeded to bite and gnaw our client's body resulting in considerablepersonal and psychological injuries from which she is still suffering," statedthe woman's solicitor.

Reference was made in the letter to the "spontaneous nature of hounds" and

to "how dangerous it is to have a pack out in fields close to houses where theymay be liable to stray and attack".

Following this disturbing incident, a court case was pending but it lateremerged that there was an out-of-court settlement.

These shocking revelations make it crystal clear that hunt hounds are not onlya threat to wildlife, livestock and pets but also to children and adults. ICABShas renewed its appeal to the Gardai to restrict the movements of hunts in theinterests of public safety. We have also alerted the government and cited this

attack on a human as another reason to urgently ban hunting with hounds inIreland.



This happened to my sister and heryoung children in a Wicklow forest.

They barely made it back to the carwith the family dog before beingcompletely surrounded by the huntdogs who were attacking the car ina frenzy to get to her dog. The kids

were completely terrified. There's noconsideration of others using thetrails or forests when these nut jobshead out with their packs of dogslooking for something to tear apart.

Comment, Irish Independent website, January 23rd, 2013



WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELPContact the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, and demand a ban on hunting

with hounds. Tell him that the cruelty of fox and hare hunting is entirely unaccept-able in a modern civilised society. Express your concerns for the ongoing attackson pets and the risk to public safety.

Minister Simon CoveneyDepartment of AgricultureAgriculture House,Kildare Street, Dublin 2.Email: [email protected]: 01-607 2884 or LoCall 1890-200510.

Send a copy of your correspondence to all your local TDs and tell them that their stanceon animal cruelty issues will affect your future voting decisions.

If you are a landowner, please act to keep hunting groups out. Hunts on your landpose a threat to livestock, pets and humans. Write a registered warning-off letter tothe masters of local hunts and make it clear that any any trespass by hunters orhounds will be not be tolerated.

Click on "Farmers" at www.banbloodsports.com for advice on how to make your propertyoff-limits to hunts.

The latest attack on a pet occurred in a Coillte forest. Please contact Coillte now andurge them to put in place a blanket ban on all hunters on their property.

David GunningCEO, CoillteThe Irish Forestry BoardNewtownmountkennedyCo WicklowEmail: [email protected] and [email protected]: 01 201 11 11

Under the Control of Dogs Act, dogs must be kept "under effectual control" so ifhunt hounds come on to property where they do not have permission to be, thiswould be an offence and the Gardai should be notified.

If possible, take photos or video footage to prove it took place. If trespass occurs bymembers of the hunt, the Gardai should be notified as well.

Join the Irish Council Against Blood Sports email list to remain updated on thecampaign against bloodsports.

Email "Subscribe" to [email protected] or write to ICABS, PO Box 88, Mullingar,Co Westmeath, Ireland. Visit www.banbloodsports.com for news and action alerts.

Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/banbloodsports and Facebook -www.facebook.com/banbloodsports

Thank you for your support.



Join the campaign now atwww.banbloodsports.com

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