THE new ISPCA policy document on animal welfare has been rejected by the North Tipperary Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The rejection is thought to be linked to the inclusion of anti blood sports policies in the welfare document. This claim has been rejected by a spokesman for the society.
The society refused to ratify the new ISPCA policy at an extraordinary general meeting last week although it is obliged to under its ISPCA membership.
Mr Norman Wallace, chairman of the NTSPCA, said the members rejected the policy document for a number of reasons. "It opposes fishing and interfering with soft animal tissue among other things which contrast with farming practices," he said.
However, Ms Linda Hehir, former vice chairwoman of the NTSPCA, claimed the society had been infiltrated by fox hunting enthusiasts and was now involved at ISPCA meetings in promoting blood sports.
Mr Philip Samways, former committee member of the NTSPCA, called on the society's new committee to explain how a society whose aims are "to prevent cruelty to animals" can support coursing.
The chairwoman of the ISPCA, Mrs Marion Fitzgibbon, said the NTSPCA could not qualify for ISPCA membership unless it endorsed the ISPCA policy document.