Old dogs at new tricks as hunting camps lock horns

ALL’S fair in love and war, as they say. Or is it? Hunters and campaigners against bloodsports are never going to see eye to eye.

But the latest row between the two sides has provoked even more bitterness than usual.

The row centres upon events of November 15 last. On the day in question, a woman working with a real estate agency in Meath emailed a number of TDs seeking their support for the Ward Union Hunt, which is based in the same county.

At the time, the Ward Union was seeking Environment Minister John Gormley to renew its stag-hunting licence. Mr Gormley did not want to, not least because of a well-publicised incident the previous January, when a stag chased by hounds ran into a school playground in Kildalkey, Co Meath.

Given Mr Gormley’s reluctance, members and supporters of the Ward Union did what was to be expected: they put up a fight.

One of the supporters was the woman at the real estate agency. In her email to TDs, she appealed to the politicians to do “anything in [their] power to push” Mr Gormley into issuing a licence.

“There are thousands of reasons why this hunt should be supported: employment; service to farmers; pony clubs; rural affairs; preservation of the species of stag; etc, etc,” she wrote.

It’s understood the woman sent the emails at about 1pm. The mistake she made was using her work account for the purpose.

Within hours, the Irish Council against Blood Sports had complained not to the branch of the real estate agency for which she worked, but to the chief executive of the agency at its head office in Dublin. In its email the council wrote: “We in the Irish Council against Blood Sports are astonished that your company would lend its name to this call for the Ward Union carted deer hunt to have its licence renewed.”

It went on to say the hunt was cruel in nature, stating: “Desperately trying to stay ahead of its tormentors, the terrified deer is at risk of sustaining serious injuries and even death.”

The council argued the woman was “in the minority of those wanting to retain this cruel hunt”, adding: “We have no doubt that the vast majority of your clientele nationally would not support this view.”

It urged the company to clarify whether the woman had its “sanction and backing” to send out the emails.

The pro-hunt lobby believes this was an outrageous move by the council, which could have jeopardised the woman’s job.

It also believes it was wrong for any politician to pass on the woman’s correspondence to a group that clearly opposed her views.

The Hunting Association of Ireland summed up this anger, saying it was “very concerned that a private individual who made representations to TDs was targeted in this manner”.

Nonsense, says the council. Its campaign director, Aideen Yourell, defended the organisation’s actions, saying it simply wished to determine if the company supported deer hunting.

“We do this all the time with companies,” she said. “If we think a company has any kind of a connection with bloodsports… we tell them what the bloodsport is, we describe it to them, we send them pictures, we say: ‘Do you really want to be associated with this?’”

Asked if she believed the council’s action could have put the employee’s job at risk, Ms Yourell said: “Well, that’s down to the employee. The employee themselves put [the company’s] name at the bottom of their email… and if they’re going to stick their necks out, and use their own employer’s name to lobby TDs, well then, they have to share the responsibility.”

She later stressed, however, that it was never the intention of the council to create any difficulty for the woman with her employer.

As it happened, the company did not take disciplinary action against the woman. Nonetheless, the woman involved refused to talk to the Irish Examiner this week. A Hunting Association representative who has spoken to the woman says she was left clearly frightened by the complaint to her employer.

As for how the council obtained the woman’s correspondence in the first place, Ms Yourell says it came from Independent TD Tony Gregory, who happens to be the organisation’s vice-president. Mr Gregory, who has been ill recently, could not be contacted for comment last night, and his Dáil office did not return calls earlier in the week.

The Ward Union, meanwhile, eventually got its licence, after Mr Gormley was advised there were no legal grounds for refusal. It was a greatly changed licence, however. Mr Gormley attached to it a series of restrictions, which meant that while a stag could be released to lay a scent trail along the course, the animal had to be recaptured before the hounds were released.

The Ward Union says the restrictions have spoiled the hunt, and stress it will keep fighting for a proper licence. The council, meanwhile, says it too will keep fighting for its goal: a complete ban on deer hunting. The likelihood is there will be many more clashes yet.