Madam, - Some national media reports may encourage the public to have a distorted view of the Great October Horse Fair. It is not "a free-for-all clinging to the remnants of a dying tradition". It is not medieval; it is a traditional horse fair.
Some 3,000-odd horses were brought by their owners to the Fair Green in Ballinasloe on Sunday and Monday. An estimated 40,000-plus people attended the event.
During the two biggest trading days more than 15 gardaí, 25 Civil Defence and 10 private security personnel, 18 local authority staff, 35 stewards and volunteers were on or in the immediate vicinity of the 16-acre Fair Green.
Four ISPCA Officers had a very high profile and visible presence on the Green. A public address system and information-commentary box is located in the middle of the green. It is manned 24 hours a day and received no comments or complaints about cruelty.
There were five different water stations on the green.The fair has a vet available specifically to deal with all animal casualties or cases. The showgrounds had a vet in their section all day and another vet was available to the rear of Dunlo Hill for prospective purchasers to have horses examined before a sale. The horse ambulance has been present at this event for the past three years.
The organisers have installed a lunging ring for competitions and for lunging so that horses can be shown to prospective buyers - allowing space to show a horse.
There were some minor incidents reported to the ISPCA officials. We were appalled at the behaviour of a very small minority of fair-goers towards your journalist Eileen Battersby. This has no place at our event.
Any notion that the event is only for poor, wretched horses is evidently wrong when significant Irish and UK horse-breeders attended and were impressed with the quality of stock seen. Foals averaged €4,000, Ponies fetched upwards of €15,000 and mares and hunters were seen to obtain €25,000.
Cruelty to horses will not be stopped by cancelling Ireland's largest horse fair, but when a minority of horse-owners are cautioned and prosecuted for wanton cruelty and mistreatment and realise that it is unacceptable to mistreat animals.
We will continue to work with animal welfare groups, horse-dealers, breeders, Travellers and the Garda in developing a unique event that will continue to showcase the best of Irish horse and not be sullied by the actions of a very small minority of horse-owners. - Yours, etc,
COLM CROFFY, Co-ordinator, Fair 2005, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.
Madam, - Eileen Battersby is to be congratulated for highlighting the cruelties visited on horses, dogs and other dumb animals at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair (The Irish Times, October 3rd and 4th). Unfortunately violence to animals is a feature of the culture of many countries, such as bullfighting or the beating to death of donkeys at festivals in Spain. We have fox-hunting still in Ireland, and hare-coursing here and in England.
I was raised in rural Ireland and am very aware of Irish people's relationship with animals. Most people treat their animals well but there has always been a percentage who do not.
What Ms Battersby described at Ballinasloe should be brought out into the open and the rigours of the law brought to bear on the perpetrators. I recently met Ms Battersby at the Frank O'Connor Short Story Festival in Cork. At the time I was unaware of her outstanding gifts of reportage outside the literary world and her obvious courage. She is to be highly commended. - Yours, etc,
MAURICE O'CALLAGHAN, Ferndale Glen, Rathmichael, Co Dublin.