Hunt row far from Bambi simplicity

MINISTER for the Environment John Gormley's decision to grant or not grant a licence to the Ward Union Hunt places him in a classic dilemma where he'll be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

In relation to carted stag hunting, he says he has a number of serious concerns and has written to the Ward Union - and awaiting its reply - to afford it an opportunity of addressing such concerns before making a final decision on the matter in the coming weeks.

Deputy Shane McEntee has called on Mr Gormley to grant the licence, claiming that Meath would be a poorer place if the Ward Union Hunt was not allowed to hunt across its fields, while the Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS) has urged him to stop defending animal cruelty.

National Hunt jockey, Paul Carberry, has also rowed in behind the Ward Union Hunt, saying that banning hunting and horse racing would do nothing to increase the welfare of the animals involved.

The Ward Union has over the years built up an excellent relationship with farmers and the wider community across the county, according to Deputy McEntee, but those against it say there have been numerous complaints down the years against this hunt from farmers and the general public regarding trespass on lands and damage to fields and boundaries.

Those against the hunt will point to the infamous incident last year at the primary school in Kildalkey when a stag was chased by Hunt members into the yard, causing great distress to both children and parents.

But was the stag - like most animals who seem to be the embodiment of the present incarnate - suffering? Surely suffering entails a conscience sense of past and future, coupled with anxiety of consequences? No doubt the animal feels pain as most beasts have a nervous central system similar to humans, as is evidenced when they wince when hurt. But as they're not equal to humans, should they be afforded certain moral rights outside of the animal kingdom?

Then there is the question of the long tradition of the hunt in County Meath, where the Ward Union is one of Ireland's oldest and that hunting plays a major role in the development of the Irish horse industry and in the success of national hunt racing which is hugely important to this country, providing much employment in the county and nationwide.

However, on the other side of the debate, it could be argued that the sight of any creature being terrorised - whether they're aware of it or not - is symbolically cruel and dehumanising in any civilised society. Of course, in general, both pro- and anti-hunt campaigners or government ministers don't ponder such lofty, intellectual, philosophical mumbo jumbo. Instead, a decision, just like voting, will more than likely come down to raw sentiment.

As to Deputy McEntee saying that hunting had a long and honourable tradition in County Meath, ICABS spokesperson Aideen Yourell said it was hardly "honourable" to hound tame, defenceless deer around the countryside, leaving them exhausted and at high risk of injury, and even death.

She said that Department of Agriculture reports (obtained by her organisation under the Freedom of Information Act) had revealed numerous disturbing incidents.

She claimed these included a deer which died of fractured ribs, a deer which died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm brought on by the huge stress of the chase, a deer which drowned in a quarry and a deer which dropped dead after desperately trying to escape over an eight-foot wall.

Jockey Paul Carberry, who has written an open letter to the minister in which he said all national hunt jockeys were concerned about the attempt to ban the hunt, said that despite protests of the stag being stressed and exhausted at the end of a run, it is eventually returned unharmed to the reservation and is only ever hunted once a year.

There are no easy answers to this highly emotive debate and the Greens in coalition are facing a litany of further obstacles that Bertie Ahern and the previous coalition cunningly passed over to their new environmentally friendly bedfellows.

If only the hunt row was as simple as the Bambi fable. Then there's M3 motorway, incineration, Shannon... Sometimes it's better to be in opposition.