A new documentary from Griffith College will profile a former foxhunter from Galway who has turned his back on fox-hunting, going on to become one of Ireland's most dedicated anti-hunt campaigners.

This short film tells of how Tom Hardiman protests outside the Dail every week to urge politicians to ban the blood sport. Directed by Ana Maqueda-Lopez, the documentary titled 'Calling the Hounds' is a presentation about a man haunted by what he witnessed at hunts but determined to see the cruelty outlawed.

"I decided to stop hunting in 1999. I was at a hunt down in Knockbrack, the far side of Athenry - they were hunting in a Coillte forestry. They hunted a fox to ground. I was watching. They dug the clay away from over the fox and let the hounds in on top of him. They pulled him up and tore him to pieces. I was really disgusted when I saw it," said Tom.

The documentary asks the question: 'How did a man of compassion end up involved in hunting?

"We used to live across from where the hunt is situated. I had a liking for horses and it goes on from there. You get in to the hunt and you don't really see the cruel side of it. You are all excited when you're going through the countryside and you're jumping walls and you think this is great. You're not thinking of the cruelty that's taking place," explained Tom.

Now with over 117 Dáil protests completed, Tom is as committed as ever to seeing a ban on the barbarity.

"I'm going to keep protesting until they change the law," Tom states in the documentary. "I'm not going to give up. No way."

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Where to see the documentary
written by Irish Council Against Blood Sports, February 19, 2008

The 'Calling the Hounds' documentary can be seen online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzqWzwlH0sE

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports appeals to landowners in County Galway to consider the suffering inflicted on foxes during hunts. Please prevent this cruelty from occuring on your land. Stand up for our wildlife heritage by posting "No Hunting" signs along
property boundaries and putting a notice in the Galway Independent warning hunts to stay away.

We also appeal to hunt followers who are uncomfortable with the cruelty to press for a changeover to draghunting. This 21st Century alternative will not take away your enjoyment of following hounds over hills and stone walls, across fields and bogs but it will ensure that a day's sport will never again depend on foxes desperately running for their lives before being viciously savaged to death.

Our campaign video showing how foxes are mercilessly abused by hunts can be seen from the videos section of our website at www.banbloodsports.com

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