Acknowledging that Pope Francis took the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment, this petition appeals to him to intervene with the Irish government on behalf of animals subjected to cruel practices in Ireland. In particular hare coursing and fox hunting.
Our government permits coursing clubs to capture our native wild hares for use as live bait in so-called sporting events. The animals are chased within the confines of wired enclosures…mauled, battered, tossed about like broken toys…as fans roar their approval. Hares that survive physically unscathed may die afterwards of stress-related conditions.
Foxes are hounded to exhaustion and then ripped to pieces by the dogs, and fox cubs are used to “blood” young hounds across Ireland in the months leading up to the official hunting season.
Fur farms thrive here too, with more than 200,000 mink gassed to death each year after enduring six months of cruel and unnatural confinement. A Bill aimed at banning those blots on our countryside will be presented to parliament in September.
We hope the Pope may be able to bring our concerns about animal cruelty in Ireland to the attention of the Irish government, and, if possible, prevail upon our politicians to act decisively to protect ALL animals and end all forms of animal cruelty.
