Animal abuse is no surprise
The sickening cruelty to swans on a stretch of the River Barrow in Co Carlow, where teenagers stoned the birds and inflicted horrific injuries, is part of a pattern of abuse extending across the whole country.
A dog was doused with petrol, set alight, and tossed over a wall in Finglas (Irish Independent, November 10).
Not a day passes without us hearing about animals being ill-treated in one way or another. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of these incidents should contact the gardai.
I blame to some extent the fact that we have legal cruelty to animals in the form of so-called field sports like hare coursing, fox hunting and stag hunting.
It's not easy telling children that cruelty to animals is wrong when adults are seen to deliberately torture or terrorise animals for fun.
John Fitzgerald
CALLAN, CO KILKENNY
Irish Independent
