Road safety and the Ward Union Hunt

Dear sir - How ironic that Fine Gael's spokesperson for road safety, Shane McEntee, is continuing to express support for the Ward Union, a hunt which for years posed a road safety risk to motorists in counties Meath and Dublin. The most recent incident last December left a couple badly shaken after their car collided with a Ward Union deer on a public road near Ashbourne. Desperately fleeing from the pack of hounds, the creature smashed into the windscreen, suffered a fractured leg and hobbled away in agony before being caught and shot in the head. The driver and passenger were said to be "lucky to be alive". Previously, a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger monitoring the hunt reported that he was forced to "brake hard" to avoid crashing into a Ward Union stag. Department of Agriculture veterinary inspector Kieran Kane, meanwhile, referred to deer running along roads and noted that during the six hunts he observed, "the Dublin-Slane road was crossed three times by a stag and five times by the hunt." Another Department official warned of potential collisions, stating that Ward Union deer "were at risk of injury when crossing roads". The National Safety Council also acknowledged the risks to motorists with a spokesperson saying they "would have obvious concerns." The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has firsthand experience of the danger. Hunt monitors narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a deer that was being chased around a corner into oncoming traffic. Deputy McEntee's role as road safety spokesperson is entirely incompatible with his support for the Ward Union which he praises as "an iconic representation of rural life". He should recognise the cruelty and threat to public safety and vote in favour of the upcoming legislation that will ban this hunt. Yours, Philip Kiernan, Irish Council Against Blood Sports, PO Box 88, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.