Three of the worst practises are 1) Fox hunting, 2) Hare coursing, and 3) the use of half-starved terriers and cross-bred dogs in “unearthing” foxes that seek refuge underground from pursuing hounds and hunt followers.

Foxhunting itself is bad enough, with the animals being hounded for hours until exhaustion delivers them to the hounds to be killed in a frenzy of biting and savagery, but the practise known as the “dig-out” is the by far the worst part of it.

This involves hunters using terriers and spades to “dig out” foxes that escape underground during a hunt. The spade men dig deep into the earth and drop a terrier down to attack the fox. The fox and dog savage each other, with the fox usually coming off worse, though the terrier also suffers horrific injuries. The terrier is then pulled back up, usually with its teeth sunk into the still live fox.

The fox is then thrown to the pack of hounds. If a hunt cannot retrieve a fox even after sending a terrier down, a pole wrapped with barbed wire is lowered into the hole and used to drag the distressed animal to the surface. This is immensely cruel in itself but the still live fox is then fed to the waiting hounds to be torn to pieces.

The Government Minister who will push through the Animal Welfare Bill has already indicated that although he does not wish to ban foxhunting itself in its entirety, he is repulsed by the “dig-out” practise and MAY ban it.

This is where you come in, and where you can really help to end this horrendous form of animal cruelty. By signing the petition below, you can relay the message that Ireland’s image as a nation will not in any way benefit from allowing this appalling practise to continue for one more day.

The pictures showing the effects of this “sport” speak for themselves. We are sure you will agree that such treatment of an animal, any animal, is abhorrent in the extreme. One picture shows a foxhunter proudly displaying a fox his dog has “unearthed” and the dog that is, sadly, also a victim of this depraved activity. A second picture shows a hunter displaying a fox after a dig-out.

Hare coursing can, and should, also be banned under the Animal Welfare Bill, though a powerful lobby is pressing for rit to be exempted from prohibition. This practice, as you may already know, involves setting greyhounds after live hares in wired enclosures and results in thousands of these gentle creatures being horribly mauled or battered every year by the dogs for “sport”. And of course many dogs also are injured or die in the process. The picture shows how cruel this practise actually is.

So, we are asking you to sign the petition calling for that fox hunting, digging out of foxes, and hare coursing to be banned once and for all under the new law.
Here’s the petition:

 http://www.change.org/petitions/ireland-s-agriculture-minister-please-ban-extremely-cruel-practices-under-new-animal-welfare-law

Thank you!