Gardai arrest man at hunt protest

ONE man was arrested and one woman injured in disturbances at an anti hunt protest in Co Waterford over the weekend.

Gardai say the protesters who disrupted the Waterford Harriers hunt in Kilmeaden were armed with whips and cudgels, and some wore balaclavas. One man was charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

The man, from Birmingham, had travelled from England with a party of 20 hunt saboteurs. He is to appear in Waterford District Court on Thursday.

A woman demonstrator received head injuries when she was trampled on by a horse during the protest on Saturday. She was taken to Ardkeen hospital in Waterford but discharged herself later that day.

More than 20 gardai were present at the start of the hunt, after receiving a tip off from British police that the group of hunt saboteurs was travelling over on the Rosslare Fishguard ferry.

The British protesters were joined by Irish anti hunt activists from the Association of Hunt Saboteurs, the Council for the Abolition of Cruel Sports and the Waterford Hunt Saboteurs.

A spokeswoman for the protesters, Ms Bernadette Wright, claimed yesterday that a number of hunt supporters were armed with golf clubs and had beaten the demonstrators about the knees. She accused the gardai of failing, to intervene when this happened.

However, gardai in Tramore said no serious incidents had occurred. In spite of the protests, the hunt had gone ahead. A spokesman said the fox escaped.

The protesters were shadowed until they left the State to ensure no disruption was caused to other hunts, he added.

About 70 members of the Harriers took part in the hunt. A spokesman could not be contacted yesterday.