Gormley urged to honour Green stance on blood sports

Minister for the Environment, John Gormley is facing further calls today to prove that he has not abandoned his green credentials by going into government with Fianna Fail.

Animal rights activists are urging the minister and Green Party leader to utilise his new position to ban all blood sports like fox hunting and hare coursing.

In their election manifesto, the Greens promised to ban all such sports and impose heavy penalties on anyone who tried the flout the ban.

The Campaign Against Cruel Sports is planning to highlight the issue during a protest outside the GPO in Dublin today in which a woman dressed in a hunting outfit will bathe in a large tub filled with imitation blood.