A group of demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine today, July 18, to protest against the “cruel export” of greyhounds.
The protesters joined from a range of organisations in Ireland and the UK, including CAGED Nationwide, Greyhound Awareness Cork, Birmingham Greyhound Protection and the Irish Council Against Bloodsports, and were meeting on Dublin’s Kildare Street between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
The pamphlet also highlighted the prevalence of life-ending injuries, the mutilation of animals, the illegal doping of dogs to improve or reduce their performance for betting purposes, and the “barbaric blooding” of small animals like kittens and rabbits used to train greyhounds.
The main contention in today’s protest however, was the export of greyhounds to “countries with little or no animal welfare” – with the government criticised for its “shameful” refusal to ban shipments to countries including China and Pakistan.
As such, the demonstrators were appealing to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, “to act now” to stop exports.
A petition by the Irish Council Against Bloodsports, calling for the end of greyhound shipments to Pakistan, has so far reached 11,362 supporters – with the group claiming that one individual involved in the trade is also part of “brutal pig fighting”.
IFA protest
Meanwhile, the department buildings were only recently vacated by a group of protesters from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA); they were demanding clarity on any maximum payment made under a proposed tillage crisis fund for farmers affected by last year’s poor harvest.
The sit-in was into its seventh day when members of the IFA Grain Committee agreed to suspend the demonstration after a meeting was scheduled with Minister Creed to address their concerns. The outcome of the discussions has yet to be confirmed.