Showdown at country hoedown
Singer in inaugural RTÉ awards dropped from charity line-up and slammed by welfare activists for sideline as puppy breeder
A PROMINENT country and western singer has been heckled by animal welfare campaigners over his sideline as a dog breeder.
Eamonn Jackson – nominated for an award at the inaugural RTÉ Irish Country Music Awards – has a licence to keep 100 dogs at his premises at near Belturbet, Co. Cavan, under his real name Eamonn Mulvanney.
In recent days, he has been criticised online for his involvement in dog breeding – an increasingly controversial activity in recent years due to allegations of animal cruelty at some puppy farms.
Mr Mulvanney’s sideline could make for a tense atmosphere at Friday night’s awards where he and his band have been nominated for the country dance act of the year.
Singer Linda Martin, a vociferous animal welfare campaigner, is one of the presenters at the awards, which are hosted by Daniel O’Donnell.
There is no evidence of any illtreatment at Mr Mulvanney’s business – although the establishment was recently served with a legal notice by Cavan County Council.
A spokesperson for the council told the MoS that a notice had been served but would not give any further details.
‘No details can be furnished at this stage as this notice is a legal document and open to appeal.’
Animal welfare group Pups Not Profit said it was concerned at the singer’s sideline business.
‘We wonder what goes through Mr Mulvanney’s mind as he sings his songs Day Job and Trailer Hitch. We kinda hope he’ll give up the day job.’
When contacted by the MoS, Mr Mulvanney admitted that he had received an improvement notice from the council last week.
On Wednesday, the singer was dropped from a charity line-up at the Cahir House Hotel in Tipperary.
The organisers removed him from the bill when they saw the controversy online.
‘When we saw the stuff on Facebook we decided to cancel him,’ said a spokeswoman.
The MoS understands that animal welfare groups plan to protest at Cavan’s Ballyjamesduff festival next month where Mr Mulvanney is lined up to top the bill.
A statement posted on Mr Mulvanney’s Facebook page said he was deeply hurt by the insinuations being made against him.
It said: ‘Eamonn Jackson has been targeted by scurrilous remarks that have been posted to social media in recent days about his association with a puppy farm in Cavan.
‘This is totally untrue and any remarks that have been posted are done so in a vexatious manner and are designed to damage Eamonn Jackson’s reputation both as an entertainer and a dog breeder.’
Ms Martin declined to make a comment about Mr Mulvanney but voiced her opposition to commercial dog breeding operations.
She said: ‘Puppy farming shouldn’t exist within our society.’
Commenting on the standards in the industry generally, she added: ‘Making vast amounts of money from animals that are kept in disgusting conditions without veterinary care and proper food is abhorrent.’
Last month, a BBC exposé revealed horrific conditions in teacher Raymond Cullivan’s puppy farm in Poles, Co. Cavan, which is licensed by the local council.
Secret footage showed bitches about to give birth confined to small ‘coffin type’ boxes with no light and ventilated by holes drilled into the sides.
Cavan council has come under intense criticism in Ireland and Britain for allowing Cullivan to keep dogs in these conditions.
It admitted this week that it is trying to change legislation regarding the welfare of dogs at these farms: ‘Cavan County Council is proactively advocating changes to strengthen the current guidelines, which are possibly no longer fit for purpose.’
There is no suggestion that Mr Mulvanney has any connection with the Cullivan puppy farm.
‘Admitted he received a notice from the council’ ‘Puppy farming should not exist in our society’