HC Deb 21 March 1906 vol 154 c388
MR. CHARLES CRAIG

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that on the 10th instant a band of upwards of 200 men and boys, with dogs and sticks and spades, entered the farm of John Fitzgerald at Rehy, Carrigaholt, county Clare, which he uses for breeding and feeding rabbits, and, after killing as many rabbits as they could, dug up all the burrows they could find; and what steps, if any, are being taken to deal with actions of this nature.

MR. BRYCE

I am informed that Fitzgerald is not the occupier of the farm in question, which forms part of the estate of Major Hickman, now being sold to the tenants. The farm was until recently used by the landlord as a rabbit preserve, but as the sale to the tenants included the sporting rights, the landlord has, I am informed, abandoned the use of this farm as a game preserve. Upon several occasions during the present month about a hundred men and boys have assembled on the farm, to kill rabbits without objection from Fitzgerald, who was the former gamekeeper, or, so far as I know, from anyone else. No interference on the part of the police has been called for.