TD in a flap over poem on pigeons
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Sunday November 11 2007
A Junior Cert poem called Poisoning Pigeons in the Park has left anti-blood-sports campaigner and independent TD Tony Gregory in a literary huff.
But when he complained that the poem was offensive, the Education Minister Mary Hanafin said that, as part of their studies, students were expected "to choose from a wide range of literary genres" including understanding satire, melodrama and tragedy. The use of the poem on the Junior Cert has also led to correspondence from the Irish Council against Blood Sports attacking this attempt to encourage "young readers to engage in acts of animal cruelty".
The minister also noted it is not departmental policy to be 'prescriptive' in such affairs and that Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, which is published by Folens, "represents a useful illustration of the different genre and concepts which students could be expected to encounter in the programme". But Mr Gregory did not believe the lyrics were appropriate.
The poem contains lyrics including "When they see us coming the birdies all try an' hide, But they still go for peanuts when coated in cyanide" and "And we'll poison the pigeons in the park, And maybe we'll do, In a squirrel or two, We'll murder them all amid laughter and merriment, Except for the few we'll take home to experiment".
"We already have a genuine problem with animal cruelty in this country and the minister's blase attitude is not in any way helpful," said Mr Gregory.
The Irish Council against Blood Sports also noted that Poisoning Pigeons "trivialises the cruel killing of birds and squirrels" and said: "Pupils should be taught to be compassionate about animals and not to act callously and mercilessly towards them."
- JOHN DRENNAN
