Ballinasloe Fair Q?.

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What happens there?.

From reading the lost 'Princess' thread I take it that its some kind of horrible animal fair?.

Is it just horse's or all animals?.

pawrick

went to it as a child and used to love it (was very young so didn't notice anything cruel or fighting etc) but they did have different kinds of animals back then - would be interested to know what it's like now also

finbarrk

It's just a horse fair the same as any of the rest of them. It's just that it's the biggest one in the country and the oldest one in Europe.

Honey-ec

It's ostensibly a horse trading fair but a huge amount of dog trading also goes on and some of the animals are in absolutly appalling condition.

If you search the Irish Indo's archives (accessible online at www.independent.ie) you'll get a full report of the kind of cruelty witnessed by one of their reporters last year - I haven't time to search for it now but I'll have a look later.

Cole

Lots of traveller sulky racing also. Not cruel in itself, but when you see some of the horses raced in this way on poor surfaces and run to almost exhaustion, it is obviously a welfare issue.

finbarrk wrote: »

It's just a horse fair the same as any of the rest of them. It's just that it's the biggest one in the country and the oldest one in Europe.

Extra Gardai drafted in from all around and specialist units...dog, mounted, drugs, plain clothes, air support, armed (there were armed checkpoints at every road coming into the town one particular year I was there), riot police on standby and private security in all hotels and pubs.

Just your regular, quaint, traditional horse fair.

skink

Cole wrote: »

Extra Gardai drafted in from all around and specialist units...dog, mounted, drugs, plain clothes, air support, armed (there were armed checkpoints at every road coming into the town one particular year I was there), riot police on standby and private security in all hotels and pubs.

Just your regular, quaint, traditional horse fair.

thats what ballinasloe is like everyday of the week!;)

Vel

My friend's parents live near Ballinasloe and they hate the fair with a passion. They've witnessed some horrible sights of animal cruelty and neglect. But god forbid anyone speak out against it and you'll be accused of discriminating against the traveller's 'tradition' and 'culture'.

This is a thread on another forum relating to the Appleby Horse Fair in the UK, which is similar to Ballinasloe and it might give an idea of what goes on :mad:

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=172886

EGAR

10 years ago I started covering the horse fair in Balliansloe and the horse marts (held at the CATTLE!! mart) as well re animal welfare. I wrote letters to the ISPCA and the Horse Trust asking for backup and help. I went to the fair committee and made it quite clear that the sale of pets in public places is prohibited. I asked Gardai to help close down puppy dealer from NI. I persistently asked for vets to be present on the days. It has gotten better but there is still alot to be done.

The itinerants were once allowed to race all over the green, now they are confined to a certain area. It still doesn't make it any better but at least they can't race over people now...

I personally have a huge issue with it in all the years I have been in Ireland. It needs greater coverage by the DVO and the ISPCA.

Morganna

the fair is awful so much cruelty someone i know was there said the intinerants where cock fighting .

GeturGun

Vel wrote: »

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=172886

OMG, that link makes for horrific reading :mad::mad:

boomerang

I was there today. There were four week old JRT pups on sale. Three mangy Great Danes pups for sale in a box of straw. Three St Bernard pups for sale. Lots and lots of JRTs and terriers for sale. Girl dragging a baby rabbit down the street on a harness. (I wish I was kidding). A German Shepherd and a lurcher for sale, crammed into a much-too-small crate. Ferrets for sale. Goats for sale. Lots of fowl packed into tiny crates and on sale right around the perimeter of the fair green.

The pups were being traded right under the noses of the gardai, and maybe fifty yards from where the ISPCA vehicles were parked. In fairness, the ISPCA seemed to have confiscated quite a number of dogs, which were crated in one of their vans. I walked past one member of staff who was working on getting a gentleman to surrender a yellow Lab that he had been trying to sell on the side of the street.

I saw a well-dressed young girl (maybe fifteen or sixteen years old) in her riding gear, selling Boxer x Labrador pups on the kerb for €20 each.

Plus there were horses and ponies there in very poor condition.

It was the girl selling the Boxer x Lab pups that I found the most depressing, though.