"I hope my karma never catches up with me" - A former hunter recalling the pain and death he caused to animals in the past. He is one of those interviewed on an episode of TG4’s "Fíorscéal” which will be broadcast this Thursday 26 August at 10.30pm.

The powerful episode, entitled 'On The Wild Side' exposes the suffering of animals in hunting, shooting and coursing and asks the questions:
What drives people all over the world to hunt animals, often driving them towards extinction?
How does hunting affect our relationship with nature and impact fragile ecosystems?
How do hunting lobbies influence law makers and the media?
Is it possible to end hunting forever?

It focuses on many animal cruelty issues, including fox hunting, deer/wolf/bird/bear/elephant/rhino shooting, the horrendous Faroe Islands’ pilot whale slaughter, Canadian seal hunt, etc.

Also featured is the horrific abuse of Galgos greyhounds in Spain. The dogs are used in hunting and coursing and routinely abandoned or brutally killed when no longer wanted. Methods of killing include shooting and hanging, while others are thrown down wells. ICABS has brought this to the attention of the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and urged him to act to stop the export of Irish greyhounds to Spain.

The programme contains some upsetting scenes but there is an emphasis on the power of people to bring about change for animals.

Among those interviewed is Australian philanthropist and animal rights activist Philip Wollen who says: "Hunting is not an industry. It's an atrocity. Hunting is not a sport either. After all, what kind of sport predetermines the outcome. What kind of sport requires one of the participants to be unwillingly brought into the fray. What kind of sport, for example, lets one party determine the field of play. What kind of sport allows only one party to be the victor and the other party to die an agonising death."

Watch Fíorscéal on TG4 on Thursday 26 August 2021 at 10.30pm.
It will also be available to view afterwards on the TG4 Player https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/top-documentaries/?series=Fíorscéal&genre=Faisneis