iDonate thanked for removing coursing and fox hunting fundraisers
iDonate - "Ireland's number one fundraising platform" - has been thanked for removing fundraising pages for fox hunts and hare coursing clubs.
The positive move followed appeals to the company to stop allowing four coursing clubs and three fox hunts (Fingal Harriers, Tara Harriers and Leitrim Harriers) to use its platform to raise money to support bloodsport activities.
Coursers who were selling fundraising tickets on the site said that “every ticket purchased goes directly towards supporting the care of our field, maintaining club facilities and ensuring the future of coursing in our community.”
One of the coursing clubs laughably claimed that “we are deeply committed to ensuring that the hares involved in our events are treated with the utmost respect and care”, adding that the club “operates under strict codes of conduct to ensure that the hares are not harmed, stressed, or put at risk” and that “we prioritise the welfare of the hare before, during and after each event”.
In an appeal to iDonate, the Irish Council Against Bloodsports highlighted the cruelty of coursing.
We pointed out that thousands of hares are snatched from the wild, held in captivity for weeks or months and used as live bait for greyhounds to chase. Every coursing season, hares are hit and pinned on coursing fields and suffer painful injuries and die. All the hares suffer the fear and stress of being manhandled, kept in unnatural captivity and forced to run for their lives.
We also told the company that hares and foxes caught by the pack of dogs during harrier hunts are mauled, bitten and torn apart.
Most people in Ireland want hare coursing and fox hunting outlawed. A RED C opinion poll found that a 77 per cent majority are in favour of a ban.
A big thank you to iDonate and parent company, Eventmaster, for their compassionate response.
Visit the iDonate website at
https://www.idonate.ie/
ACTION ALERT
It is time for politicians to consign coursing and hunting to history. Join us in contacting TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Find contact details on the Oireachtas website https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/34
Get in touch with the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein and tell them that you want hare coursing and all bloodsports banned.
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
HELP THE HARES: Tell Heritage Minister James Browne and Minister of State for Nature and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan to give full protection to the Irish Hare and stop licensing cruel coursing.
Minister James Browne (Fianna Fail, Wexford)
Tel: (01) 618 3094
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.browne.enniscorthy
Twitter: https://x.com/jamesbrownetd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbrownetd/
Christopher O’Sullivan TD (Fianna Fail, Cork South West)
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity
Tel: (01) 618 3095 or 023 88 11011
Email: mos@housing.gov.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.osullivan.716
Twitter: https://twitter.com/COSullivanTD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher_o_sullivan_td
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter)
Dear Ministers Browne and O’Sullivan,
Please REFUSE 2026-27 hare coursing licences.
The Irish Hare, an icon of Ireland’s biodiversity, has suffered for far too long in this shameful bloodsport.
Past licences have allowed coursers to net thousands of hares from the countryside, 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.
With the suffering, stress, injury and death caused to hares at coursing meetings, there should be no hesitation in finally ending this cruel activity by refusing 2026-27 licences. This would be widely welcomed by the vast majority who want coursing banned.
Ireland is in the middle of a government-declared biodiversity emergency. Now is the time to give full protection to the Irish Hare and allow these magnificent animals to live free from persecution.
Please do the right thing and stop licensing hare coursing.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address]