“Hare coursing must be permanently banned, both to safeguard this gentle creature from wanton cruelty and, more urgently, to prevent the disappearance of the entire species from our island, which would represent an ecological catastrophe” – Read John Fitzgerald’s Letter to the Editor in the Southern Star…
Hares under attack from all angles
Letter to the Editor, Southern Star: 12 June 2021
Among the mammals severely threatened by climate change, according to the World Wildlife Fund in its Feeling the Heat report, are mountain hares.
This should concern us because Ireland’s hares face a growing threat from multiple sources. The Irish hare is a sub-species of the mountain hare that is unique to Ireland. Aside from climate change, it has to contend with loss of habitat resulting from urbanisation and the unintended impact of modern agriculture.
It also struggles to survive the relentless human predation that some people like to call ‘sport’, ie it can be legally harried with hounds, chased and killed by mounted hunts, and netted for use as live bait by more than 70 coursing clubs.
As if this weren’t a daunting enough set of challenges, the past two years have witnessed the spread of the deadly RHD2 virus in the countryside, a disease that is highly contagious and fatal to hares and rabbits, which it kills agonisingly.
It can be spread by coursing activities, especially via the use of nets to capture hares and the practice of corralling them into compounds or paddocks where these normally solitary creatures endure lengthy periods of stressful and unnatural captivity. One diseased hare can quickly infect the others in such a confined milieu. The government adopted limited measures to curb the RHD2 threat last year by cancelling a dozen coursing fixtures and politely asking coursing clubs to be vigilant.
This was a hopelessly inadequate response that has failed to eliminate the disease. I hope the government, with its supposedly ‘greenish’ tinge, will take more effective action to protect our native hares.
Hare coursing must be permanently banned, both to safeguard this gentle creature from wanton cruelty and, more urgently, to prevent the disappearance of the entire species from our island, which would represent an ecological catastrophe.
John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co Kilkenny
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
Please sign and share the petitions
Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing
Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing