Will Gormley give in to the staghunters?

I WAS pleasantly surprised that the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, was taking a moral stance in not issuing a stag-hunting licence to the Ward Union Hunt (Irish Examiner, September 6).

Like many other former Green supporters, I have witnessed Mr Gormley and his party abandon many of the their election commitments since entering government.

But my surprise was short-lived when your edition of the following day revealed that the minister was reconsidering whether or not to grant the licence for this barbaric practice.

Given that Mr Gormley has already granted a licence for trapping hares to the coursing industry, one can only assume he will now renege on his original commitment and grant the Ward Union licence.

The hunting brigade tries to justify this practice by describing any proposed ban as “an attack on rural Ireland”.

Mark Twain’s description of this activity is most apt: “Of all the creatures ever made, man is the most detestable. Of the entire brood he is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain.”

Mary Fitzpatrick

Ballycurron

Lackenroe

Co Cork