The vile practice of fur farming may soon be banned in Ireland. The best prospect to date will present itself in late September this year when Ireland’s parliament considers a Bill proposing the abolition of fur farming. Because the vote is expected to be very close, your support, in the form of an email to Irish politicians, could be crucial to the outcome. In 2004, an anti fur farming Bill was defeated by 67 votes to 50 in parliament. In 2010, fur farming was about to be banned but the coalition government of the time, which included the Green Party, fell before the legislation could be passed. Hopefully, the Bill in September will become law. What fur farming involves… More than 200,000 mink are killed on Irish fur farms every year. These wild animals are confined in small spaces for the duration of their short lives. The cages that hold them are each about the size of two shoe boxes. Though semi-aquatic by nature they are denied a watery environment on the farms. Their captors feed them on bits liquidized fish organs, which they have to “earn” by licking at these through the tops of their cages. Mink are solitary creatures in the wild whereas on the farms they are forced to mingle and co-exist with other mink. They react against these cruel and deviant conditions by indulging in repeated self harm and cannibalism, while also suffering from extreme levels of stress as they struggle in vain to escape. At the age of six months, they are taken from their cages for slaughter. Up to forty mink at a time are squeezed into the killing box, and gassed to death by carbon monoxide. The skin is then ripped from their bodies. Some mink are still alive and unconscious when removed from the box and have to be “dispatched” before skinning. Footage of mink in captivity at an Irish fur farm can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsHJOnF1ejk How to influence the crucial vote in September… In late September, parliament will VOTE on this proposal. To become law, the Bill to ban fur farming must be approved by a simple majority of the 157 members of parliament. This is where you can really help and influence the outcome. Please (time permitting) send a message to members of the Irish parliament, asking them to support the Bill to Ban fur farming in Ireland. Simply email the message to yourself, with a “blind back-up copy” to each of the three lists below, and all of the politicians will receive your message/appeal. That requires sending the email three times, with a different list “copied” each time. Thank you! John Fitzgerald, Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports List One gerry.adams@oireachtas.ie, bobby.aylward@oireachtas.ie, maria.bailey@oireachtas.ie, sean.barrett@oireachtas.ie, mick.barry@oireachtas.ie, richard.boydbarrett@oireachtas.ie, john.brassil@oireachtas.ie, declan.breathnach@oireachtas.ie, pat.breen@oireachtas.ie, colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie, tommy.broughan@oireachtas.ie, james.browne@oireachtas.ie, richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie, pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie, peter.burke@oireachtas.ie, joan.burton@oireachtas.ie, mary.butler@oireachtas.ie, catherine.byrne@oireachtas.ie, thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie, jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie, dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie, sean.canney@oireachtas.ie, ciaran.cannon@oireachtas.ie, joe.carey@oireachtas.ie, pat.casey@oireachtas.ie, shane.cassells@oireachtas.ie, lisa.chambers@oireachtas.ie, jack.chambers@outlook.com, michael.collins@oireachtas.ie, niall.collins@oireachtas.ie, joan.collins@oireachtas.ie, catherine.connolly@oireachtas.ie, ruth.coppinger@oireachtas.ie, marcella.corcorankennedy@oireachtas.ie, simon.coveney@oireachtas.ie, barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie, michael.creed@oireachtas.ie List Two sean.crowe@oireachtas.ie, david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie, john.curran@oireachtas.ie, clare.daly@oireachtas.ie, jim.daly@oireachtas.ie, michael.darcy@oireachtas.ie, john.deasy@oireachtas.ie, pat.deering@oireachtas.ie, pearse.doherty@oireachtas.ie, regina.doherty@oireachtas.ie, stephen.donnelly@oireachtas.ie, paschal.donohoe@oireachtas.ie, timmy.dooley@oireachtas.ie, andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie, bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie, dessie.ellis@oireachtas.ie, damien.english@oireachtas.ie, alan.farrell@oireachtas.ie, frances.fitzgerald@oireachtas.ie, michael.fitzmaurice@oireachtas.ie, peterm.fitzpatrick@oireachtas.ie, charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie, sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie, kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie, patthecope.gallagher@oireachtas.ie, noel.grealish@oireachtas.ie, brendan.griffin@oireachtas.ie, john.halligan@oireachtas.ie, simon.harris@oireachtas.ie, michael.harty@oireachtas.ie, sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie, seamus.healy@oireachtas.ie, danny.healy-rae@oireachtas.ie, michael.healy-rae@oireachtas.ie, martin.heydon@oireachtas.ie, brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie, heather.humphreys@oireachtas.ie, paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie, billy.kelleher@oireachtas.ie, alan.kelly@oireachtas.ie, enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie, martinkennysf@gmail.com, gino.kenny@oireachtas.ie List Three sean.kyne@oireachtas.ie, john.lahart@oireachtas.ie, james.lawless@oireachtas.ie, michael.lowry@oireachtas.ie, marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie, josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie, catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie, micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie, charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie, marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie, helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie, michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie, finian.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie, john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie, joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie, tony.mcloughlin@oireachtas.ie, denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie, mary.mitchelloconnor@oireachtas.ie, kevin.moran@oireachtas.ie, aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie, michael.moynihan@oireachtas.ie, imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie, eugene.murphy@oireachtas.ie, paul.murphy@oireachtas.ie, eoghan.murphy@oireachtas.ie, dara.murphy@oireachtas.ie, catherine.murphy@oireachtas.ie, margaret.murphyomahony@oireachtas.ie, Denis.Naughten@oireachtas.ie, hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie, tom.neville@oireachtas.ie, carol.nolan@oireachtas.ie, michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie, eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie, caoimhghin.ocaolain@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie, sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie, donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie, aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie, darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie, jonathan.obrien@oireachtas.ie, jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie, kate.oconnell@oireachtas.ie, willie.odea@oireachtas.ie, patrick.odonovan@oireachtas.ie, fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie, kevin.okeeffe@oireachtas.ie, fiona.oloughlin@oireachtas.ie, louise.oreilly@oireachtas.ie, frank.orourke@oireachtas.ie, jan.osullivan@oireachtas.ie, maureen.osullivan@oireachtas.ie, willie.penrose@oireachtas.ie, johnpaul.phelan@oireachtas.ie, thomas.pringle@oireachtas.ie, maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie, anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie, michael.ring@oireachtas.ie, noel@noelrock.ie, shane.ross@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie, brendan.ryan@oireachtas.ie, escanlonmcc@eircom.net, sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie, roisin.shortall@oireachtas.ie, brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie, brid.smith@oireachtas.ie, niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie, brian.stanley@oireachtas.ie, david.stanton@oireachtas.ie, peadar.toibin@oireachtas.ie, robert.troy@oireachtas.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, mick.wallace@oireachtas.ie, katherine.zappone@oireachtas.ie