THE Ward Union Hunt has admitted that the stag hunted at Kilmessan, Co Meath, last week was not in fact captured. The animal escaped after two hunt members caught it, a spokesman claimed, and it remains at large.
The hunt's admission came after a caller to the Irish Anti-Hunt Campaign claimed the deer was still free but had been injured with barbed wire.
The National Wildlife Service, which is now monitoring the Ward Union's hunts under the terms of a licence granted by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, confirmed that its ranger had not seen the deer after the Kilmessan hunt.
"He was informed that the stag had crossed ground where the hunt could not follow, was still at large, and would be looked for the following day with a view to recapture," a spokesman said.
Speaking on the way to a hunt at Dunboyne yesterday, the Ward Union's master, Mr Sean Byrne, admitted the deer was still free but said it was "not harmed".
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