View of hunting is out of touch
It helps him to keep his "eye in" on the racetrack, he says as if that justified chasing a terrified semi-domesticated stag across fields and over ditches, to be cut and torn in tangles of barbed wire and pushed by organised bullying to the limits of its endurance.
All for a laugh.
Mr Carberry may be an Irish racing icon, but his waffling romanticised depiction of stag hunting is an assault on reality.
He defends it as a delightfully humane pastime, one that is vital to the success of our horse racing and equestrian industries. The Ward Union Hunt could easily switch to drag hunting, in which a false scent is laid for the hounds to follow, and still provide an exciting day out for riders and hunt followers.
The horses would still jump ditches; the hunters could dress the same, blow their horns as loudly and shout Tally-ho.
The only difference would be that a majestic and defenceless creature wasn't hounded for kicks.
kicks.
JOHN FITZGERALD
CALLAN, CO KILKENNY
