Today tonight: animal cruelty

“Animal cruelty” was transmitted last March under the banner of “Today Tonight”, Irish Television’s current affairs programme. It examined five separate areas of cruelty. The first two – live hare coursing and other hunting – are both fully legal in Ireland. The programme commissioned and published two independent surveys of attitudes to hare coursing – one from the general public, a majority of whom where opposed to it, and one from members of parliament, who were far more ambiguous on the subject.Two illegal form of sporting activity were also examined – badger baiting and dog fighting, both on the increase in Ireland. The progrmme contains an interview with a dog owner involved in badger baiting, and also shows film of the two horrific sports.The last area examined was that of guard dogs in Dublin. The programme shows the appalling conditions that some of them are kept in – sometimes underfed and cruelly treated. They frequently escape and have savaged small children in the city’s suburbs. Included is and interview with one of these children and his parents, together with an examination of the law in this area, which was virtually non-existant.The documentary had a considerable impact when it was transmitted. It sparked a public debate on what constitutes sport and what constitutes cruelty. In addition, since its transmission, the law dealing with guard dogs has been up-dated and improved.