Stag hunting ‘ban’ as Gormley to refuse club licence

STAG hunting is effectively to be banned in Ireland, the Irish Examiner has learnt.

Green Environment Minister John Gormley is poised to refuse a licence for the Ward Union Hunt, which provoked outrage last January when it chased a stag into a Meath school playground as horrified children looked on.

The move, a de facto ban on the blood sport for the first time in Ireland, could come as early as today and is almost certain to provoke a legal challenge. However, it is understood Mr Gormley believes the school mayhem gives him sufficient grounds to act.