political news

BryanL

from a different Brian

From: Brian Munn [mailto:brianmunn@btinternet.com]

Subject: H.A.I. E-NEWS



A Happy New Year and Good Hunting to all of you.



The month of December was one of the busiest periods I can remember for media attention and political activity relating to hunting. We had our first ever H.A.I. Monster Meetings with record attendances for any hunt meetings ever in Ireland. Thank you for your support. We succeeded in getting the attention of all the political parties, both those who support and those who oppose us.



We have more work to do on this front in order to make our determination clear and leave Politicians in no doubt that we have the numbers to influence elections. We are not going to be stopped from hunting by a handful of Green TDs with an Animal Rights agenda. Whilst I’m quite sure that none of us want to be spending our time attending meetings or writing to TDs, we have no choice but to do so if we are to win. The Animal Rights activists have been using these tactics for many years. Because they are so vocal, they appear to be strong in numbers. The press believes that a majority would ban hunting and clearly some politicians believe that too. In truth, the biggest public meeting the Animal Rights groups have ever mustered here totalled 100 and some of those were our observers.



Most Irish people don’t care whether we hunt or not, but they believe in democracy and democracy is built upon the belief that there should be the “Greatest possible freedom for the greatest number.” We don’t need to convince the Irish people or politicians that they should support hunting. We need only convince them that hunting is not something they need worry about.



Those of us charged with public relations responsibilities, David Wilkinson, Gavin Duffy, Dickie Power and others have been busy throughout December. On St. Stephen’s Day alone I was interviewed by twenty different journalists for a mixture of television, radio and press. I would far rather just have enjoyed the hunt. We would all rather be getting on with our hunting and our lives, but the current Green threat is very real. They have an insignificant mandate, but seem to be driven by animal rights fundamentalism. A look at the ICABS website will clearly show where their policies originate.



For a few days in December, we seemed to be seeking the support of our members for texting and voting on media polls too often. We worry that after a while, “texting fatigue” will set in. I can’t stress enough how important that support is. In October a new publication “The Meath Post” claimed that a majority of people in Co. Meath were against the Ward Union getting the licence. That poll of 120 people had a very suspect basis and was the first hunting poll we had lost in the five years that I have been involved in hunt PR, but Gormley referred to it on Today FM radio and at least 4 other media outlets, siting it as justification for granting the inoperable licence that now prevents the Ward Union from hunting deer.



The Ward Union battle is far from over. John Gormley procrastinated for four months over granting the licence. When he discovered that he had no legal justification for withholding it, he issued one that, as he gloated on radio, would prevent them from hunting deer with hounds. On Wednesday I had a call from RTE’s Liveline Programme to go on radio and discuss the situation. As we know from past experience, the anti-hunt groups can use Liveline to their own advantage. I was able to defer it until after the Ward Union members have had the chance to decide on their precise course of action, but they will not hold off indefinitely. When it happens, we will need every hunt supporter in the country calling Joe Duffy.



We have also heard that there is a Foxhunting debate scheduled for the Late Late Show, on 11th January. We will need your support for that too. Now is the time to rally all our friends. Be prepared to forward any text messages or emails to every hunting enthusiast you know. Our Sport may depend upon it.



The next H.A.I. Monster Meeting will be held in Cork. It is on Thursday January 10th at 8.00pm in the Conference Centre, Silver Springs Moran Hotel, Tivoly, Cork. 800 members attended the meeting in Gowran Park Kilkenny. 1,400 attended the meeting at Slane, County Meath. Munster should be able to beat those records. Chairman of the HAI, David Daly will chair the meeting and among the speakers we will have Gavin Duffy, Col Joe O’Sullivan and Barry O’Driscoll. We expect several Fianna Fail TDs to attend. Politicians take note of large numbers of voters. We urge all hunting people in the region to attend. If it is anything like previous meetings, it will be exciting.



Finally, the Ward Union are taking legal advice as regards challenging the current licence. For the moment, they must not partake in any activity that might jeopardise that action. I have suggested that they invite Foxhound and Harrier packs to their country, to give their members some sport while they conduct whatever legal challenges they deem appropriate. The last thing hunting needs is to give Gormley and his friends in ICABS the moral victory of converting to the Ward Union to a drag hunt. I am not saying there is anything wrong with drag hunting. It is just a different sport and for those who by choice hunt live quarry, we must not bow to Gormley’s and ICABS’ wishes.