The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA) found that there are over 150 people actively involved in animal baiting in Northern Ireland. The organization told BBC Spotlight that there could be up to 14,000 cases of badger baiting in Northern Ireland each year. Baiting is deliberately setting up fights between hunting […]
Tag: Northern Ireland
Criminals are targeting badger setts when the mothers are protecting litters of tiny cubs
Badger setts have been targeted by cruel criminals in Co Down, just as the mothers are safeguarding their litters of small cubs. After uncovering a spate of sett attacks, the Northern Ireland Badger Group has issued a warning to residents in the Dromore region. It claims that badger baiters accompanied by fighting dogs have dug […]
Calls for future Northern Ireland Assembly to ban hunting with dogs
There have been calls for any future Northern Ireland Assembly to ban hunting with dogs as a matter of priority. The calls come ahead of scores of traditional hunts that are due to take place on Wednesday. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are the biggest events in the hunting calendar across the UK – despite […]
POLL: Should hunting with dogs be banned?
An animal welfare charity has called for hunting with dogs to be banned in Northern Ireland. The League Against Cruel Sports is calling on politicians to create new legislation that would ban hunting with dogs, with the Alliance Party planning to table a private members bill in the New Year. It comes just weeks after […]
Badger cull pilot risks spreading bovine TB further, study says
A pilot scheme to selectively cull badgers testing positive for tuberculosis risks spreading the disease further, scientists have warned. The new bovine TB control strategy to be piloted in Northern Ireland will carry out live tests on badgers with the aim of vaccinating healthy animals and culling infected ones, as part of efforts to reduce […]
Review: The Bird Atlas tracks changes of Britain and Ireland’s birds
A new atlas of 1,300 maps shows the patterns of distribution, abundance and change among 296 bird species in Britain and Ireland. The Bird Atlas 2007-11 is a partnership between British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Scottish Ornithologists’ Club and Birdwatch Ireland and involved the work of more than 40,000 volunteers over four years. BTO used […]