Fine Gael's pandering to minority

Dear sir - I wonder are there no depths to which politicians won't sink in their grasping for votes. Fine Gael's manifesto pledge to reverse the ban on stag hunting panders to an ever shrinking minority of people in this country who derive pleasure from frightening the living daylights of an animal. Not even a wild animal, in the case of this blood sport given that the deer used are farmed or semi-tame. If Fine Gael follows through on its commitment, the majestic stag will again have to run the gauntlet of a harrowing cross country chase. It will again experience the stress and panic of being hounded for fun, of having its large quivering body torn by brambles and barbed wire as it seeks to elude the hunt. Hunted stags will again, one presumes, suffer drowning in rivers and lakes as before, or will collapse from exhaustion, their tongues hanging out as they gasp for breath in their frenzied flight to sanctuary. Fine Gael's pledge to restore this real life chamber of horrors to our countryside is presumably aimed at rural voters, yet some of the strongest opposition to stag hunting came from farmers and other landowners who had to endure frequent incursions by hounds, horses, hunt followers, and terrified stags; and from road users who feared the prospect of deer bouncing off the bonnets of their vehicles, as occurred in a number of incidents. The stag is part of our ancient and treasured wildlife heritage. It doesn't deserve to be a victim of animal cruelty dressed up as "sport". I appeal to Fine Gael to re-think its position on stag hunting and to stop supporting this relic of the Dark Ages. Yours, John Fitzgerald, Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports, Callan, Co Kilkenny.