Puck Fair festival asked to leave goat out of it

The goat crowned King Puck in 1953

Animal rights campaigners have asked organisers to leave a live goat out of a festival in the Republic of Ireland.

The annual Puck Fair in Killorglin, County Kerry, attracts about 100,000 visitors over three days.

The wild goat is captured three weeks before the event and "reigns over the town" as King Puck for three days and nights in a tradition dating back 400 years.

But activists have said tradition does not justify such use of a wild goat.

A young woman chosen from the community crowns the goat on the first day of the festival on 10 August.

He is then paraded through the town as thousands watch and cheer, before being raised in a cage on an 18m (60ft) stand high above Kilorglin square.

Pat Cahill from the festival committee with the white mountain goat chosen as this year's King Puck

The festival also features a horse fair, family events, street entertainment, music and late night opening in the town's pubs.

The organisers said it was worth 7m euro (£4.9m) to the town of Kilorglin every year.

A spokeswoman for Puck Fair said the goat is the festival and every care is taken to ensure its safety and well being.

"The goat is very well looked after. He is de-flea-ed and debugged. Animal welfare officers look after him and there is also a vet on call 24 hours a day," she said.

However, John Carmody, of the Animal Rights Action Network (Aran) said it was wrong to treat a wild animal like this.

"The poor animal seems terrified," he said.

The goat is held in a cage above the town

"It is taken from the wild and kept in a completely unnatural environment. It is then put in a cage where it can just about move about and it is absolutely terrified.

"The puck is a wild animal who doesn't understand the loud noise, bright lights, and thousands of people in front of him, and he certainly doesn't understand being hoisted into the air and left there to dangle over a weekend," he said.

"We're encouraging the festival goers to get with the times and take the puck out of the fair, because if you wouldn't do it your dog, why do it to a goat?"

Mr Carmody said tradition should not be used to justify animal suffering.

Aran believes the use of a live goat breaches some of the freedoms enshrined in Ireland's Animal Health and Welfare Act 2010. These include freedom from discomfort and freedom from pain and distress.

However, the spokeswoman for the festival said: "We are not in breach of any of the five freedoms. If that was the case, the minister for agriculture would shut it down."

The festival begins with a horse fair on Monday and will end with fireworks and the taking down of the goat on Wednesday.