Hunt hounds savage cat
Wednesday January 14 2009
A WOMAN watched in horror as a pack of hounds on a fox hunt savaged a pet cat in the garden of her home in Kilmore this week.
Breda Whelan of Rickardstown, Kilmore said the Killinick Harriers Hunt is no longer welcome on her land following the brutal incident on Monday afternoon.
The family cat was torn to pieces by the hounds which crossed the main Wexford/Kilmore Road following the scent of a fox.
'They came up the driveway and pinned the cat against the garage door and massacred it', said Breda who went to investigate when she heard the dogs howling.
'They tore it apart. What I'm trying to get across is the absolute cruelty of it. It was a poor dumb animal not doing any harm to anyone', she said.
Afterwards, the end wall of her house was splattered with the cat's blood. Breda said she couldn't bear to look at the dead animal.
She said the dogs could have caused an accident as they crossed the Main Road to get to her house. Breda said she and her husband, Stephen won't allow the hunt to cross their land in future.
The Kilmore woman complained in person to the Master of the Hounds on Monday evening. 'He apologised to me for what happened', she said.
The chairman of Killinick Harriers, Jimmy Devereux said he hadn't heard of an incident like this in his 20 years involvement with the hunt.
- Maria PEPPER
