The Workers’ Party wishes to commend the Irish Wildlife Trust for their refusal to accept blood money from property developer Con McCarthy.

McCarthy was originally found guilty by the District Court of an offence under the Wildlife Act after he suffocated an active badger sett under tonnes of soil. He subsequently appealed the decision at the Circuit Court and was ordered to donate €15,000 to animal charities; a small price for the unprecedented “entombing” of badgers on a site near City West in Dublin. A spokesperson for the National Parks & Wildlife Service described this horrific incident as “the most wilful, cruel act that I’ve ever witnessed in 20 years” and flagged that overturning a conviction in favour of blood money would signal that “a person could buy their way out of a conviction.” The Irish Wildlife Trust has quite rightly refused McCarthy’s donation.

The Workers’ Party wishes to reiterate its commitment to substantial and comprehensive policies against bloodsports and the mistreatment of animals in Ireland.