Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To return to the Bill, the Minister and his officials have tried their best to look after animal husbandry and animal welfare without throwing out the baby with the bathwater. I want to return to the coursing industry. The coursing industry is very important to south Tipperary and other parts of the county also. I have invited my colleague, Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan, who spoke when contributing on previous legislation about shooting hares, to come to Clonmel. I also invited Deputy Clare Daly who has refused to come. I invited them to see coursing, not to look at the videos that have been made, but to see at first hand what happens during the coursing festival in Clonmel. It is a very valuable industry which is worth €6 million to Clonmel. It is not all about money and I do not argue we can be cruel to animals for the sake of the economy. However, these industries are very valuable to the economy and use good practice.

When I was a buachaill óg I went coursing every Sunday with the men and women of my parish. It was a three parish coursing club and it was best education I ever received. With the flora and fauna I learned about nature. We hunted the hares and if we could beat or frighten them out, we had coursing. It may not have been as humane as it should have been because the dogs were not muzzled at the time but nonetheless the coursing club did much for young people by instilling in them the values of nature and our heritage, the value of our open space, camaraderie, club membership and association. It held many fundraisers and supported many charities. It also held an annual social. It no longer exists, unfortunately, but we still have our coursing festival which we want to protect. I invite anybody to come, and if they want to picket it is a free society, but I ask them to come and see what goes on during the festival.

Two years ago I was appalled when so-called "animal rights" people cut the wire and released the hares which were in fields waiting for the coursing. They were not waiting of their own free will, but they were in fields and were not locked up in kennels. The hares got onto the N8 motorway between Cashel and Cahir and were slaughtered by the traffic. A so-called "animal rights" person went on the radio and stated it was more humane than being raced with muzzled dogs. We must ask where is the logic and what is wrong. It was an obnoxious situation. The same person went on to state on the radio that cattle exports should be stopped and any animal such as my sheepdog rounding up hill sheep on the farm I partly own should be stopped. What planet are these people on?

I do not want to cast aspersions on the memory of the late Tony Gregory who was mentioned by Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan. He was an excellent representative. If one lives in the Pale or any other town, one accepts the practices which go on outside the Pale. Everything does not happen inside the Pale and people should get out and get a greater understanding. I do not have an understanding of what goes on inside the Pale with regard to many issues, but I do not tell people what to do and what not to do and where to go and where not to go. We must all live.

My next point is not with regard to Deputy O'Sullivan but to another Deputy, Deputy Clare Daly, who spoke yesterday. She professes to be a socialist who wants jobs. However, we have industries which they want to destroy. They do not provide too many jobs through the State but jobs are provided on family farms and by those in the country who keep greyhounds and provide the best facilities for them. They nurture and love them. They breed them. They bring them to greyhound tracks and coursing festival and it is part of their culture and heritage. By doing so they create an industry and give employment to thousands of people throughout the country. I cannot imagine why people want to dismantle this.

I will make another point, which perhaps I should not but I will. I have already said to Deputy Daly's face that I cannot understand how people can be pro-abortion and anti-bloodsport. It just does not fit into my little logic, and I may not have much of it. Deputy Daly has introduced an abortion Bill and states she is committed to introducing anti-coursing Bills. I cannot understand how the two can sit together. It beggars belief. It is not right or proper. We profess to be pro-jobs and pro-work but we want to destroy industries such as coursing and horse racing.

I am sick and tired of receiving e-mails and letters from so-called "animal rights" people. I am in favour of animal rights and 99.9% of animal owners are in favour of animal rights and look after the animals better than any so-called self-professed "animal rights" lover would look after them because they understand what animals need to live and survive. They understand what it costs to breed animals. They are not the people who give pets at Christmas. Too often I see pets given at Christmas being neglected and abandoned at huge cost to the State with pounds and veterinary bills. They do not have a clue but ordinary people involved in animal husbandry look after those animals better than their own children. They do this because it is their livelihood, their love and passion and their nature. They want to look after animals and do so.

This legislation must be fine tuned. It is very difficult to legislate for many issues. Deputy Connaughton spoke about practical farming and issues that can arise. He has a serious concern, as do I, about the type of people who might get involved in policing the new legislation. I have no problem with local authority vets and dog wardens but I do have a problem with self professed and maybe secret so-called "animal welfare" people perhaps ending up in these jobs. They might end up there under false pretences or in open competition and they will have an agenda to persecute people and farmers for issues which may arise from time to time in normal farming practice. I have serious concerns about this. I compliment the animal rescue centres throughout the country which do great work. Nothing is more distressing than to see animals being neglected. No half-decent farmer would want to see any animal hurt or neglected and would go without themselves to ensure their animals are looked after.

Legislation is being introduced with regard to the pig industry requiring more space for sows and litters and rightly so. When we were young we all had a sow in the back yard and we did not have half the waste and had our bacon killed at Christmas. We have lost many of these practices. There is now a great deal of legislation on the keeping of hens and fowl. One requires a herd number for a sow. We must examine some of our legislation and undo it because we are destroying an industry and people's ability to be self-sufficient to a fair degree. There was not much waste when people had a sow or two in the yard because the food waste was well looked after and one had a product afterwards.

Since my previous contribution on animal welfare I have been asked by the Vegan Society to visit it and I will do so.

I will try to understand and educate myself better on their views and feelings and why they will not eat meat and other products. However, the anti-coursing people have refused to come to see a civilised coursing meeting, to see the industry around it, to learn and to leave the Pale and see what goes on in the Golden Vale and elsewhere. I abhor badger baiting and dog fighting and all those obnoxious practices which must be stamped out. I am glad the Minister has addressed these issues in the Bill. However, some practices have gone on since our Lord's time and the rabbit was killed and skinned when people had no other food. We are now being told that is cruelty.

It is interesting this Bill is being debated in the House this week when the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, announced the wording for the children's right referendum, on which I compliment her. I look forward, I hope, to supporting it.

The Minister said that any involvement in dog fighting or animal baiting is despicable and should be completely done away with. It is a significant problem and it is often hidden. Some people breed or buy dogs solely for the purpose of fighting and it is an extremely cruel practice. I compliment the Minister on the efforts he has made and will make and on putting more resources into dealing with that barbaric practice.

I refer to the issue of TB and brucellosis, which has cost the State billions of euro and about which I am concerned. Like the previous speaker, I am concerned about neighbouring farms being locked up. Scientifically, we do not know how TB and brucellosis are spread. The fact that neighbouring farms and adjoining lands must be locked up and farmers cannot go to marts to sell their produce when they want is causing major hardship. This year has been particularly difficult because of the lack of fodder. Given the severe and adverse weather conditions since March, which was a lovely month, most of the surplus produce or silage been eaten, and this issue needs to be examined. It is bad enough for the unfortunate farmer whose animals have TB, which he or she has not caused, and whose farm must be locked up, but neighbouring farms should not be penalised in this way because it does not eradicate TB. I wonder why TB has not been eradicated after all the years and millions of euro spent. I wonder is there something deeper going on and it is has become an industry in itself, which would be very serious. However, we must not penalise neighbouring farms.

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