Goal loses out over source of donation

THE CHARITY Goal has lost a donation towards its efforts for victims of the Haiti earthquake because animal rights campaigners objected to the source of the funding.

The money will instead be given to a greyhound welfare charity. Bookmaker Boylesports sponsored a series of charity bets at the national meeting of the Irish Coursing Club in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, earlier this week.

It was intended all the winnings would help “the unfortunate millions who have been left hopeless in Haiti after the recent earthquake”. Boylesports planned to give the money to Goal.

However, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports contacted Goal to “alert them” to the source of the donation. They described the event in Clonmel as a “crueltyfest” and said blood sports-related fundraisers were “thinly-disguised public relations exercises designed to try and gain brownie points for those involved in causing suffering and death to animals”.

An official at Goal subsequently contact Boylesports to say the charity did not wish to be associated with coursing and was told: “no problem”.

Spokeswoman for the council, Aideen Yourell said she had explained “what coursing was and the cruelty associated with it” and claimed Goal “didn’t take much persuading” to decline the offer.

But when contacted by The Irish Timesyesterday, the charity's head of fundraising Lisa O'Shea said that while Goal was not associated with this particular fund-raising initiative, the charity would, in fact, be happy to accept the donation because she didn't see "why people in Haiti should suffer" just because some people objected to certain activities.

She said the Irish Council Against Blood Sports had promised “more calls” and she was “picturing a deluge of phone calls from irate members of the public”.

However, Boylesports confirmed they had decided instead to give the “significant” sum of money to another charity, the Retired Greyhound Trust, which provides for unwanted dogs.

DJ Histon, chief executive of the Irish Coursing Club, expressed disappointment and said Goal was dealing with “a desperate situation in Haiti”. He called on the Irish Council Against Blood Sports to replace the donation lost to Goal.