Thanks to Galway Daily for highlighting the campaign for a ban on cruel hare coursing.
“Galway TDs are being urged to back proposed legislation to ban the practice of hare coursing in Ireland,” the 2nd June report outlines, referring to the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) 2020 Bill. The bill was introduced by Paul Murphy TD last year and is expected back before the Dail in the coming months.
Adrian Curran of the People Before Profit Galway branch is among those urging Galway’s TDs to back the bill.
Galway Daily quoted him as saying: “Many of the over five thousand hares captured annually for coursing in Ireland are injured or killed, and footage of hares running for their lives and being violently tossed and thrown into the air by dogs ten times their size demonstrates the barbaric nature of this practice.”
He also noted that the cruel activity “creates ideal conditions for the spread of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD2) by keeping hares in close confinement”.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has confirmed that the deadly and highly contagious RHD2 virus can be spread by coursers. Dr Ferdia Marnell of the NPWS warned that the disease is “highly infectious” and that “the catching of hares in nets, their transportation in boxes, and their holding in confined areas can all be considered to increase the risk of disease spread.”
The previous Minister for Culture and Heritage, Josepha Madigan admitted that the virus “has the potential to wipe out the hare population completely”.
Cases of RHD2 have already been detected in Clare, Cork, Wexford, Kildare, Dublin, Kerry, Leitrim, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary and Wicklow. Hare deaths as a result of RHD2 have been confirmed.
Read the full Galway Daily report at
https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/call-for-galway-tds-to-back-proposed-ban-on-hare-coursing/
Videos:
Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to Ban Hare Coursing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dm0mmXYcv8
Ireland's cruel coursing: Hare desperately tries to escape from dogs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hv-CDK6M48
ACTION ALERT
HELP THE HARES: Contact Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien TD and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and urge them not to issue any further licences for hare coursing and pave the way for a permanent ban on coursing.
Minister Darragh O’Brien
Tel: (01) 618 3802.
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Malcolm Noonan TD
Heritage of State for Minister
Tel: (01) 6183148
Email: malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm
It’s time for the government to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing.
Contact the leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party and tell them that you want foxhunting and all bloodsports banned. Also get in touch with all your local TDs and urge them to pledge support for the bill. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33
Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Tel: 067 34190
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alankellytd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alankellylabour