FROM THE ARCHIVES:The deaths of 48 horses out of 142 on board a ship from Dublin to Dieppe caused outrage in Britain and dominated coverage in the media there of a visit to London by taoiseach Seán Lemass for trade talks. It also led to threats of a boycott of Irish goods and holidays.
A BOYCOTT of goods from the Republic “may prove the only way to induce a change of heart in Dublin” over the export of horses for slaughter, says a statement issued yesterday by the International League for the Protection of Horses.
“A boycott would inevitably hurt innocent people in both Éire and Britain: it must also embitter relations between two friendly countries,” the statement says. “The decision must be left to individual conscience.”
The decision of the Government of the Republic to permit further exports of live horses for butchery was a blow to those who were hoping that recent publicity would have brought a change of attitude, says the statement. Declarations by Mr. Lemass that there was no cruelty, and that shipping conditions were strictly supervised, were “naive indeed.”
The statement says: “No responsible quarter has accused the Irish inspectors or animal handlers of negligence or cruelty. Can the Prime Minister deny, however, that this Irish export trade has involved appalling suffering for the horses at sea, and leads to the probability of revolting cruelty from the French port to the slaughter point?”
The fate of the horses sent from Ireland to France had convinced the league that it was unreasonable to hope for any genuine improvement in conditions in France.
“The evidence shows that the treatment in the abattoirs and en route is much worse in France than in Belgium or Holland, from which two importing countries the traffic has largely shifted.”
A table compiled by the league revealed that the number of live horses imported into France last year was 7,406, compared with 664 in 1956. The number taken by Belgium had dropped from 9,825 to 1,915, and by Holland from 4,567 to 953.
The number of horses dying on board or on disembarkation was 90 last year, compared with 56 in 1956, the league claims.
The statement by Mr. Lemass on the B.B.C. Panoramaprogramme, that live horses were shipped also from America, Denmark and Germany, was misleading, says the statement. "No horses are shipped from America for slaughter, while the Danish and German exports do not go by sea."
The league will spare no effort in carrying on the fight. It had appealed to Mr. Lemass to reconsider his decision, and its branch in the Republic was putting the facts before every member of the Dáil, entreating support for a “new deal” for horses. On his arrival at Dublin airport yesterday, the Taoiseach referred to his press conference and BBC appearance in London. He said he was satisfied the press campaign was over but some organisations might try to continue the campaign for their own motives.
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