Top racing figures in show of support for Wards

Leading figures from across the racing world gathered in Dunsany on Monday to hunt with the Ward Unions in a massive show of support for Rural Ireland Says Enough! (RISE!), the new campaign group to fight for rural sports and pastimes. Top National Hunt and Flat jockeys, including Aintree Grand National-winning riders Ruby Walsh, Paul Carberry, Niall 'Slippers' Madden and Robert Power were joined by Ross Geraghty, David Casey, Davey Russell, Barry Cash, Paddy Flood, Tony Mullins, Kevin Manning, Declan McDonagh, Andrew Lynch, Shay Barry, Robbie Dunne, Roger Loughran, Davy Condon and Keith Donoghue, as well as trainers Tucker Geraghty, Tony Martin, Gavin Cromwell and Gordon Elliott with his Aintree National winner Silver Birch. Champion pony riders Megan Carberry and Danny and Jordan Benson also took part. The Ward Union Hunt said the show of support for Monday's rally sends the message to the Government that traditional field sports and rural pastimes enjoys widespread support. The show of solidarity from leading NH and jockeys underlined the fact that the horseracing and equestrian sports in general is based and founded on the hunts, organiser Ross Geraghty pointed out, and that any ban on hunting would mean that the Irish thoroughbred and sport horse industry would lose its grass roots. A ban on stag hunting will withdraw €1.4 million in spending power annually from the north-east region. If it is followed by similar bans or restrictions on other field sports the withdrawal of spending power will be well over €100 million. The Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU and the Hunting Association of Ireland (HAI) joined forces to form 'RISE! to campaign at national, regional and local level. Together, these organisations represent more than 300,000 adherents of country sports. The steering group of RISE! includes representatives of FACE Ireland, the HAI and the Ward Union Hunt. The group sees three imminent threats to rural sports: the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009, proposed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which is being debated in the Seanad today (Wednesday); the same minister's Wildlife (Amendment) Bill, which includes a ban on stag hunting, scheduled to be published between now and Easter, and the Animal Health and Welfare Bill is being drafted by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The proposals represent part of a wider, fundamentalist Green agenda being foisted on people, says RISE!. The group said that packs of hounds maintained by hunt clubs for hunting should be exempt from the terms of the Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009. There should be full consultation with all stakeholders before the proposed Animal Health and Welfare Bill is published or proceeded with and it should not be used to restrict the enjoyment of traditional rural sports. RISE! wants to retain the existing legal position in relation to the annual licensing of the Ward Union Hunt. The campaign is calling for a comprehensive review of the existing licence conditions with a view to seeing how any legitimate concerns may be met without an outright ban. Animal rights is essentially an ethical issue of conscience and there should be a free vote of all deputies and senators on any proposed ban, it believes. Also on Monday morning, three local Fianna Fail TDs, Mary Wallace, Johnny Brady and Thomas Byrne, visited the Ward Union kennels at Greenpark in Skryne to see for themselves how it operated and how the hunt operated health and safety and other measures. Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has already indicated his support for John Gormley's proposals to ban the hunt.