“Coursing has been outlawed in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our republic is the last bastion of this backwoods barbarism. It is long overdue for consignment to the dustbin of history” - Read ICABS Campaign Director Aideen Yourell’s Letter in today’s Sunday Independent and please scroll down for urgent action alert...
Ireland last bastion of barbaric ‘sport’
Sunday Independent, 26 September 2021
Sir — On your letters page (September 19), the CEO of the Irish Coursing Club claimed the Irish hare is under no threat from the RHD2 virus, as it is a disease in rabbits.
This is incorrect. RHD2 was detected in Irish hares in 2019.
When a dead hare found in Wexford tested positive for the disease, the then minister Josepha Madigan withdrew the controversial licence to capture hares for use as live bait.
By the end of 2019, RHD2 had been confirmed in five hares, one in Dublin and four in Wexford. This was reported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This deadly virus, which started in rabbits, has crossed over to Irish hares and poses a threat to this unique species.
After a backlash from a handful of pro-coursing TDs, Ms Madigan reinstated the capture licence so the coursers could resume their activities, despite the threat of the virus.
Hare coursers have been granted a licence to snatch thousands of hares from the wild for another season of abuse. Timid hares will be held captive in pens for weeks and then forced to run for their lives from greyhounds while bets are laid on the outcome.
Coursing has been outlawed in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our republic is the last bastion of this backwoods barbarism. It is long overdue for consignment to the dustbin of history.
Aideen Yourell,
Irish Council Against Blood Sports,
Mullingar, Co Westmeath
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging Heritage Ministers Darragh O'Brien and Malcolm Noonan to revoke the coursing licences they issued and put in place proper protection for the Irish Hare.
Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Malcolm Noonan TD (Green Party, Carlow Kilkenny)
Minister of State for Heritage
Tel: (01) 618 3148 OR (01) 618 3156
Email: mos@housing.gov.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; info@greenparty.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm
Please sign and share the petitions
Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing
Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing
Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports
Find us on Twitter and Instagram
https://twitter.com/banbloodsports
https://www.instagram.com/banbloodsports/
Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dm0mmXYcv8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIKc2CS4ko