“Hare coursing should be a thing of the grisly past and so should zoos” - Read John Fitzgerald’s Letter to the Editor in the Irish Mail on Sunday and please scroll down for urgent action alert...

Let wild animals be
Irish Mail on Sunday, 17th July 2022

I see that Dublin Zoo has vehemently denied allegations highlighted by Labour Senator Annie Hoey about alleged conditions and activities there.

Without getting into the details of this controversy or the conflicting claims, I have to say I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea of confining wild animals in captivity just for humans to gawk at.

I know we’ve heard that zoos have come on a lot since Victorian times...the cages are bigger, and the captives have more space to move around. But a mighty elephant belongs in his natural domain in the Asian or African jungle, not served up as an exotic wonder for tourism.

The same can be said of other creatures, great and small. How sad to see the mighty King of the Jungle, the lion, brought so low...abducted from the wild and forced to end his days behind bars, a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Coincidentally, this month the government may again grant a license permitting the capture of thousands of hares for coursing. These wild creatures will also be snatched from their natural habitats and then held in unnatural captivity, before being forced to run from pairs of salivating dogs.

Again, humans will come along to watch and enjoy seeing these animals perform, regardless of the impact on the unfortunate hares. In all but four counties hares will be hounded within the confines of parks or wired enclosures while gamblers whoop with delight or mark their betting cards.

It’s time we stopped interfering with the lives of wild creatures and let then live out their lives, long or short, in peace. They belong in the wild, not in cages.

Coursing should be a thing of the grisly past and so should zoos.

Occasionally we hear the “good news” that an animal has been born in a zoo, or that most or all of the hares at a coursing fixture managed to avoid getting mauled.

But the only good news I want to hear about either zoos or the coursing “industry” is that both of them have shut down.

John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co. Kilkenny

SEE ALSO
HORROR CLAIMS | Senator uses privilege to detail shocking allegations of animal abuse at Dublin Zoo
https://www.sundayworld.com/news/irish-news/senator-uses-privilege-to-detail-shocking-allegations-of-animal-abuse-at-dublin-zoo/1179211107.html

URGENT ACTION ALERT

HELP THE HARES: Urgently contact Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan. Email “Please refuse a 2022-23 licence for cruel hare coursing” to:
minister@housing.gov.ie; mos@housing.gov.ie
[or please scroll down for sample letter to send].

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

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

SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the sample letter below)

Dear Minister O’Brien,

I am writing to ask you to please REFUSE a licence for another season of cruel hare coursing.

The licence would allow coursers to net thousands of hares from the wild, transport them in boxes to coursing compounds, manhandle them, hold them in captivity for weeks/months and eventually force them to run for their lives in front of greyhounds.

All the hares suffer fear and stress and, despite the muzzling of the dogs, hares are injured and killed every coursing season when they are caught and mauled. Among the injuries documented are broken back, spinal injury, broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips.

Hares suffer at all stages – during capture, while held captive and at the coursing meetings where they can be seen desperately running as a merciless mob cheer the greyhounds on and gamble on which dog will force the hare to change direction first. Coursing compromises the welfare of hares and those who survive the ordeal remain at risk of dying from stress-related capture myopathy in the days and weeks after they are released back to the wild.

There is also the very worrying issue of disease spread among hares when they are forced together in unnatural high density. The National Parks and Wildlife Service division of your Department has made it clear that “the catching of hares in nets, their transportation in boxes and the collection and holding of hares in confined areas can all be considered to increase the risk of disease spread”. In relation to the highly contagious RHD2 virus, the NPWS has stated that “if one infected animal is found in netting for a coursing meeting, then the entire capture would need to be put down.”

Minister, as you have previously observed, “hares are a protected species and are better off being in the wild rather than being held in captivity in large groups [in coursing enclosures]”. Your colleague, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, has in the past condemned coursing, saying the suffering inflicted on hares “highlights a shocking disregard for the welfare of the animals”. In 2020, he stated: “We all want to see hare coursing ended – it’s a cruel practice.”

With the suffering, stress, injury and death caused to hares at coursing meetings, there should be no hesitation in finally ending this shameful activity by refusing a 2022-23 licence. This would be widely welcomed by the 77% majority of Irish citizens who want coursing banned (just 9% disagree with a ban. Source: RED C poll).

Ireland is in the middle of a biodiversity crisis and it’s time for the iconic Irish Hare to be given full protection and allowed to live free from persecution. Please refuse the licence as a step towards a long overdue ban on coursing.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

[Name/Address]

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

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Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dm0mmXYcv8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIKc2CS4ko