Carted Deer hunting

The Animal Cruelty Investigation Group has over the years worked closely with the Irish Council Against Blood Sports to expose the cruel activities of the Ward Union Staghounds in the Republic of Ireland.

Here is a link to a Youtube film sequence:-

This was filmed on January 18th 1991 by an undercover team from the Animal Cruelty Investigation Group (ACIG), the Irish Council Against Blood Sports and the League Against Cruel Sports. It shows the cruel pastime of carted staghunting in which deer were taken from a deer park, adjacent to the hunt kennels, and released into the countryside. They were given a start and the hounds released to hunt them. When exhausted the deer stood at bay and was caught by the followers, returned to the cart and returned to the deer park to be hunted another day. The antlers were cut off the stag to make recapturing the deer easier and to protect the hounds from being gored at the end of the hunt. There was no intention to kill the deer but of course the deer never knew that and they would flee anywhere they could and were sometimes injured or killed on roads. Not all deer released were recaptured, those that escaped (as on this day) went on to become outliers that could be hunted another day. After extensive and determined lobbying by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports this pastime, that was originally introduced to Ireland in the 19th century by the British army, was banned by the Wildlife Amendment Bill 2010. The hunt continues to operate but in a different way.