Dear Editor,
As an opponent of live hare coursing I am encouraged by the fact that the licence permitting the annual widespread netting of hares in our countryside has not yet been granted to the hare baiting clubs.
In past years, the licence was issued by the Environment Minister in August, the reason being that coursing clubs needed about a month to both capture enough hares for the first baiting fixtures of the season in late September and to “train” the hares as they call it for these events.
I hope this delay in granting the netting licence reflects a change of heart on the part of the Department of the Environment and a timely recognition by the Minister, Mr. Gormley, that Ireland’s hare population is under grave threat
Within the past week, Northern Ireland renewed its suspension on all coursing and hunting of hares due to the creature’s endangered status in the province. It is a fact that hare density in the Republic is similar to that pertaining in Northern Ireland and also that the Irish hare is designated by the Red Data Book on Irish flora and fauna and by the Department of the Environment as an endangered species.
Hare coursing impacts on the hare population in many ways: It engenders widespread disruption to the species and its habitats, and the long-term effects of the stressful ordeal to which the creatures are subjected by coursing clubs has yet to be fully determined.
Many hares die from injuries sustained during netting (mainly broken bones that do not heal )…becoming entangled in the nets as they struggle desperately and in terror to escape the netting gangs. These “kills” are seldom taken into account by coursing clubs when reporting on their activities for a given season, the emphasis being on what happens on coursing day.
At a time when the Irish hare’s conservation status is officially deemed “poor” by the State’s Wildlife Service, it is surely inconceivable that the Environment Minister would even contemplate allowing gangs of animal cruelty fans to scour the countryside in search of hares as live bait for coursing.
With the species under severe pressure from loss of habitat resulting from urbanisation and aggressive agricultural methods, it can certainly do without the additional threat posed by the net men and coursing clubs.
Hare coursing evokes shame and utter revulsion in most people. Every animal welfare association in the world opposes it, as does, according to every opinion poll conducted on the issue to date, the vast majority of the Irish people.
Now is the time for Minister Gormley to pull the plug on this pathetic excuse for a sport. Such a move would be welcomed by the Green Movement worldwide, and represent an act of mercy towards one of the gentlest creatures on this planet.
Thanking you,
John Fitzgerald
(Campaign for the Abolition
Of Cruel Sports )
Callan.
