The Minister for Agriculture has farcically claimed that cruel coursers “promote the protection and conservation of the Irish hare”.
He made the statement in response to a Dail question from Clare Daly TD who asked him why officials from his department wrote to Coillte asking if coursers could capture hares on its property for their cruel bloodsport.
In her 28 March question, Deputy Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) asked Minister Michael Creed why “officials of the hare coursing monitoring committee departed from their remit and interceded for the hare coursers when they wrote to Coillte seeking permission to capture hares on Coillte land”.
Minister Creed confirmed that representatives of his department shamefully contacted Coillte.
“Officials from my Department contacted Coillte to ascertain on behalf of the Monitoring Committee if a mechanism existed whereby the Irish Coursing Club could request permission to net hares for the purposes of regulated hare coursing on Coillte-owned property,” Minister Creed said. “In response, Coillte expressed the view that it would not be possible to grant the request without impacting on general access for recreation.”
Minister Creed went on to farcically claim that the coursing monitoring committee acts to “ensure that coursing is run in a well-controlled and responsible manner in the interests of hares and greyhounds alike” and that the Irish Coursing Club - which oversees the cruel netting of thousands of hares from the wild every year for use as live lures for dogs - “actively promotes the protection and conservation of the Irish hare”.
Coursing causes a massive interference to the Irish Hare species and every coursing season, hares suffer painful injuries (including broken bones) and die on coursing fields. All hares suffer fear and stress and even those who survive the coursing ordeal are at risk of later dying from stress-released capture myopathy.
ACTION ALERT
With warnings from wildlife experts that the Irish Hare is in trouble, it is now more clear than ever that the species must be given FULL PROTECTION. Urgently contact Minister Josepha Madigan and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and demand that they stop hare hunting, hare coursing and hare shooting.
Minister Josepha Madigan
Minister for Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht
Phone: +353 (0)1 631 3800
Email: josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie, ministers.office@ahg.gov.ie, wildlifelicence@ahg.gov.ie, john.fitzgerald@ahg.gov.ie, Gerry.Leckey@ahg.gov.ie, nature.conservation@ahg.gov.ie
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://facebook.com/JosephaMadiganFG
Tweet to: @josephamadigan
John Fitzgerald
Director, National Parks and Wildlife Service
Phone: +353 (0)1 888 3242
Email: john.fitzgerald@ahg.gov.ie
Contact An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar and appeal to him to act to save hares from all forms of hunting.
An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie
Tweet to: @LeoVaradkar
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/campaignforleo/
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture to remove an exemption for coursing from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Michael Creed TD
Minister for Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: michael.creed@oir.ie
Tel: +353 (0)1-607 2000 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelcreedtd
Tweet to: @creedcnw
Please get in touch with all your local politicians and ask them to push for a ban on hare hunting and all blood sports. Visit the Oireachtas website for names of TDs and their contact details http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=32&disp=mem Write to your TDs at: Dail Eireann, Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-618 3000 or 1890 337 889. Please also arrange a meeting with your TDs at their local clinics.
Dail Question and Answer
28 March 2019
Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent): To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason officials of the hare coursing monitoring committee departed from their remit and interceded for the hare coursers when they wrote to Coillte seeking permission to capture hares on Coillte land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14641/19]
Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael): The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is recognised as being, subject to the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, and of the constitution of the ICC and subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon, the controlling authority for the breeding and coursing of greyhounds.
The ICC is committed to maintaining high standards in the sport of coursing and it actively promotes the protection and conservation of the Irish hare. Coursing operates in a highly-regulated environment coupled with a comprehensive set of rules directly applied by the club. Hares are sourced under licences from the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht which are issued annually and subject to a total of 26 conditions.
A Monitoring Committee on Coursing was established during the 1993/94 coursing season and is comprised of officials from my Department and representatives from both the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the ICC to monitor developments in coursing and, in that regard, the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well-controlled and responsible manner in the interests of hares and greyhounds alike. The Monitoring Committee meets annually and considers any issues arising from the previous season. Wildlife rangers from the NPWS and veterinary inspectors from my Department attend coursing meetings and report on their findings. The Monitoring Committee also arranges to have any complaints or reported incidents investigated.
In this case, officials from my Department contacted Coillte to ascertain on behalf of the Monitoring Committee if a mechanism existed whereby the ICC could request permission to net hares for the purposes of regulated hare coursing on Coillte-owned property.
In response, Coillte expressed the view that it would not be possible to grant the request without impacting on general access for recreation. This was my Department’s only communication with Coillte on the matter.