Terror in schoolyard: let’s call off the hounds

THE scenes of terror and cruelty witnessed in the Co Meath village of Kildalkey should leave no fair-minded person in any doubt as to what stag-hunting is about. It is a throwback to the dark ages.

With the stag and pursuing hounds rampaging through a primary school, distraught children were confronted by images of man’s inhumanity perpetrated by so-called sportspeople.

Exhausted and petrified, the majestic animal selected for that day’s hunt was bleeding and covered in muck and sweat, its tongue hanging out, its eyes bulging with fear as the baying pack closed in.

This was the true face of stag-hunting — not the cosy, benign image projected by the spindoctors of the fieldsport fraternity.

And it wasn’t a pretty sight. Not surprisingly, some of the children who witnessed the ‘sport’ have already had nightmares.

Apart from the obvious health and safety issues raised by the schoolyard incursion, this perverse pastime has no place in our country.

It has no conservation value, as the stags are not hunted as part of any pest control programme. The sole purpose of the exercise is to harass and terrorise the animals.

The involvement of some very powerful individuals in the practice may partly explain why the politicians have not dared to legislate against it.

The late Charles J Haughey was a keen stag-hunter.

He rode to hounds in excellent company alongside property developers, other politicians, high-flying financiers and assorted big knobs of the legal profession.

Environment Minister Dick Roche could strike a great blow for Ireland’s wildlife heritage and the cause of animal welfare by refusing to license this horror.

It’s time to give the stag a break and call off the dogs.

John Fitzgerald

Lr Coyne Street

Callan

Co Kilkenny