"Out for a day of casual killing" - Read Mona Ward's letter to the editor in the Sunday Independent... Out for a day of casual killing Sunday Indpendent, 7th January 2018 Buoyed by Fiona O'Connell's Lay of the Land (Sunday Independant, December 31) and it being the day I turned 65 years, I drove off down the road to reach a safe walking spot. How disheartening and utterly depressing to find the road gorged by parked cars and horseboxes. The weekend warriors, men, women and children, showing contempt for our wildlife, out for a day's casual killing. I recognised the faces I had earlier encountered at Mass, praising God for His glorious creation and here they were finishing a day's hunt, where a beautiful fox, our cherished wildlife, would have been torn apart by crazed bloodhounds. St Francis tells us that "interfering in the natural world is a sin. Every animal has intrinsic value, every creature has its own purpose. They are not just there for us. This is our common home." Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister Creed, it is in your gift to end this senseless, disgusting exploitation of our treasured heritage. This is Ireland's shame. Please make 2018 memorable for another forward thinking civilised achievement. Mona Ward Gaybrook, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath ACTION ALERT Please join us as we renew our appeal to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to ban foxhunting and all bloodsports in Ireland. An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar Department of the Taoiseach, Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2 Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020 Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie Tweet to: @campaignforLeo Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campaignforleo/ Michael Creed TD Minister for Agriculture Department of Agriculture Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Email: michael.creed@oir.ie Tel: 01-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510. Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelcreedtd Tweet to: @creedcnw