Green Party leader John Gormley has accused a pro-hunting group of "frightening the living daylights out of rural Ireland".

A HUNTING club yesterday obtained High Court permission to challenge a decision by Environment Minister John Gormley to put restrictions on its licence to hunt deer, which it says amounts to an effective ban.

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has welcomed the restrictions applied to the Ward Union Hunt Club licence issued in Co Meath for the hunting of deer.

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley’s imminent ban on stag hunting is the first shot in a wider war on “rural traditions”, hunting enthusiasts have warned.