Petition Against Dogfighting

delgany

Dear All



I don’t know how many of you saw the BBC1 Panorama programme about the Irish dogfighting ring last night (30.08.07)



The footage shown in the programme was horrific and one of the men featured who was involved in this cruelty and abuse was a Gaelic footballer, a popular sport. He has already been convicted and fined for keeping dangerous dogs and the footage showed him planning dog fights and discussing stealing a dog to use in a dog fight.



I have written a petition to ask the GAA, the Gaelic Football Association, to suspend this man from playing Gaelic Football. I do not believe that such a cruel man should be allowed to enjoy the privileged lifestyle that he does, and also feel strongly that he should not be allowed to continue in his position of role model in Ireland.



Please read the petition and sign it if you would like to show your support.



http://www.petitiononline.com/Cavlan/petition.html



If you would like to contact the GAA directly, their contact details are:



queries@gaa.ie
pressoffice@gaa.ie



Dog fighting is not a sport – it is a cruel and horrific crime.



Please forward this email on to all your contacts.



Regards



Jane

delgany

Thanks to everyone who signed - we're over 743 signatures now and are 8th in the top 10 petitions.

There are some great comments too.

delgany

Here's an update for you:

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/sport/story.asp...4z334&t=gaa


Tyrone star's future in doubt over dog fight claims
31/08/2007 - 16:22:01

Disgraced Gaelic football star Gerard Cavlan will never play for Tyrone again, it was claimed tonight.

The All-Ireland Championship winner’s glittering career appears to be in ruins after he was linked to an international dog fighting scandal.

With police facing demands to reopen an investigation into Cavlan’s secret life working with pit bull terriers, the Tyrone County Board is to hold urgent talks on the player’s future within the next few days.

But sources close to senior officials claimed the forward would never wear the red and white jersey again.

One said: “Most people think he’s finished. He’s not getting any support from anywhere.”

Cavlan, 31, who played a key role in Tyrone’s 2003 All-Ireland title-winning side, was secretly filmed boasting about the dogs’ strength and skills in a fight.

The shocking revelations, in an undercover TV investigation, appear to have shattered Cavlan’s claims earlier this year that he was not involved in the savage sport.

Even though he was fined £650 in his hometown of Dungannon after pleading guilty to possession of a dangerous dog, his lawyer denied the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) star had any links to illegal activities.

But his claim to have just collected the pit bull from kennels for another man were rubbished by a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight and Panorama programme.

And a close friend has now conceded it would be almost impossible for Cavlan to continue playing.

“He knows he’s personally damaged. There’s probably no way back from this,” he said.

“He was thinking of packing it in anyway this year, but before this all blew up many people thought he had another year left in him.”

In the programme, Cavlan was accused of being the joint owner of a dog-fighting operation known as The Bulldog Sanctuary Kennels.

The investigation also uncovered a trail to Finland where breeders prepare animals from as young as 10 months to be exported to Northern Ireland.

Horrified animal welfare campaigners and public representatives lined up to demand tough action after watching sickening footage of owners goading their dogs to tear each other apart in blood-drenched pits.

During talks today with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, the Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley urged the authorities in Dublin to review legislation being exploited by gangs involved in illegal cross-border dog trading.

“All who saw those pictures will have been horrified by the vicious and grotesque scenes,” Mr Paisley said.

“It is beyond comprehension how human beings can be involved in such activity.”

Pledging to work with the UK and Irish Governments to end the barbarity, he added: “A review and amendment of legislation in the Republic would go a long way in helping the authorities on both sides of the border to ensure the animal abuse is stopped.”

Cavlan, an ex-pub owner, claimed on the programme to have up to 15 dogs.

And he reportedly said of one pit bull: “Sure he had him in the chest, and he shook him and he shook him for 25 minutes.

“If he hadn’t got you killed in half an hour… he was in trouble, you know. A real hard-mouthed dog.”

The exposure has piled pressure on Tyrone GAA chiefs to ban him for life.

Board chairman Pat Darcy refused to say whether any such action was possible.

He said: “We have no comment to make other than to utterly condemn any form of abuse or torture of animals.”

Mr Darcy added that he did not want to prejudice any future legal proceedings.

But Sinn Féin MLA and Tyrone fan Barry McElduff insisted GAA chiefs need not intervene.

Although he expressed his abhorrence at the brutality involved, Mr McElduff added: “I don’t think that it’s a matter for the GAA because the alleged actions took place in the individual’s own time and as a private citizen.”

The investigation also discovered 15 illegal dog-fighting gangs in the North – five in Belfast and some with connections to international organisations.

One gang, The Farmer Boys, was infiltrated and found to be involved in fighting matches across the North and abroad.

As police confirmed they were studying footage of the programme, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Lord Morrow demanded a legal inquiry.

He claimed public prosecutors should call witnesses who were prepared to give evidence for Cavlan during his original case back to court to explain their testimonies.

“Their statements should be thoroughly examined following this exposure of bloodthirsty thuggery,” the Democratic Unionist Assemblyman said.

“It is my belief all the stops were pulled out to protect Cavlan’s sporting career.”

The Sinn Féin Agriculture Minister at Stormont, Michelle Gildernew, also hit out at those involved in the sport.

Pledging to work for an end to the cruelty across Ireland, she said: “I cannot believe that such barbaric practices still take place and they must be stopped.”

the_syco

delgany wrote:

“All who saw those pictures will have been horrified by the vicious and grotesque scenes,” Mr Paisley said.

“It is beyond comprehension how human beings can be involved in such activity.”

U V F wot?

=-=

It's a bad sport, but I'm pretty sure that as dogfighting is illegal, I'm unsure what a petition is for?

houndsoflove

Signed it. What a miserable thing he is :mad: He shouldn't even be considered human.