They’re claiming that they are “custodians of the Irish Hare” but we all know that Ireland’s nasty hare coursers are really CUSTODIANS OF CRUELTY and they must never be allowed anywhere near hares again.
In what the Department of Arts and Heritage is warning could be CATASTROPHIC for the unique Irish Hare, the species is facing a deadly, highly infectious disease that threatens its very future.
As calls grow louder for a ban on cruel coursing and full protection for hares, the Irish Coursing Club sought and obtained a meeting with the National Parks officials today. In a statement issued after the meeting, the ICC outrageously refers to coursers as “custodians” of the Irish Hare, adding that they will meet the National Parks again on September 16th to “review all relevant matters”.
Hare coursers certainly are NOT "custodians" of the Irish Hare. In fact, they are the hare's worst nightmare. These are the people who exploit the Irish Hare in the worst possible way, snatching thousands of the defenceless creatures from the wild, terrorising them by releasing greyhounds to chase after them and putting them at risk of being struck, mauled and killed.
Coursing has caused massive disturbance to the species over the years and hares have continued to suffer painful injuries and die on coursing fields around Ireland. All suffer the fear and stress of running for their lives. Despite claims by coursers that most hares are released back to the wild after being subjected to the coursing ordeal, the welfare of these animals has been compromised due to unnatural captivity and manhandling, and so they are at risk of dying from stress-related capture myopathy in the days, weeks and months after release.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling on Minister for Culture and Heritage, Josepha Madigan, to stand firm against the Irish Coursing Club. She must not even contemplate lifting the suspension on the snatching of hares from the wild in nets for their barbaric "sport".
Last Friday, August 9, she suspended hare netting licences, after the deadly disease, RHD2 was identified in the wild in Ireland for the first time ever. She issued a statement detailing how the disease was reported in Ireland in domestic rabbits in 2018, but has now been found in wild rabbits in Wicklow and Clare and also in a hare in County Wexford - all confirmed by tests carried out at the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine Laboratories.
Dr. Ferdia Marnell of the NPWS Scientific Unit outlined his concerns: “Rabbits are central to wild ecosystems, being the main food for many predators from stoats to eagles that in turn regulate other animal populations. A decline in our wild rabbits will have numerous knock-on consequences. Of further concern is the potential for the disease to spread through the Irish hare population.”
The statement added: “The disease is highly contagious and can be spread directly between animals and in the faeces and urine of infected animals, as well as by insects and on human clothing. In addition the incubation period may last several days and apparently uninfected animals may in fact be carriers. Under these circumstances 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”
It was for this reason that Minister Madigan decided to suspend the netting licences issued to the Irish Coursing Club.
Coursers could never be considered the custodians of the Irish Hare. The vast majority of Irish people - who love and respect nature, who want the Irish Hare to survive and who want coursing banned - are the custodians. We will not accept any return to the licensing of a bloodsport which targets one of our most vulnerable species.
Not only should Minister Josepha Madigan keep the suspension of hare netting in place, she should announce a total and permanent ban on coursing and act to ensure that the Irish hare finally gets the full protection it deserves. In addition, the Minister should ban all forms of hare hunting immediately, including beagling and harrying.
URGENT ACTION ALERT
Contact Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Josepha Madigan and urge them to announce a total and permanent end to all hare coursing and hare hunting in Ireland.
Email "Permanently end cruel hare coursing and hare hunting NOW" to josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
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; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: @LeoVaradkar
Leave a comment on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar
Josepha Madigan
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Phone: +353 (0)1 631 3800
Leave a comment on Facebook: https://facebook.com/JosephaMadiganFG
Tweet to: @josephamadigan
Fine Gael
51 Upper Mount Street
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 619 8444
Email: finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to @FineGael
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FineGael/
DEPARTMENT’S STATEMENT
Deadly Disease found in Irish hares and rabbits – public asked to report any sightings as Irish Coursing Club Licences suspended with immediate effect
09/08/19
A disease fatal to rabbits and hares, but of no risk to humans, has been confirmed in the wild in Ireland for the first time. The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is asking the public to report any suspected cases.
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) was first reported in domestic (farmed) rabbits in China in 1984 killing millions of animals within one year of its discovery. By 1986 this viral disease had been found in continental Europe and has since spread globally leading to significant mortality in wild populations of rabbits.
In 2010, a new more virulent strain of this virus (RHD2) emerged in France. It causes death within a few days of infection with sick animals having swollen eyelids, partial paralysis and bleeding from the eyes and mouth. Most distressingly, in the latter states close to death, animals exhibit unusual behavior emerging from cover into the open and convulsing or fitting before dying.
The disease was reported in Ireland from domestic rabbits in 2018, but has now been confirmed in the wild from a rabbit in Co. Wicklow and another in Co. Clare. Today, the virus has been confirmed from a hare in Co. Wexford. In all cases individual animals were tested at Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine Laboratories where RHD2 was subsequently confirmed. While all three locations continue to support apparently healthy wild populations, unlike the situation in the UK where mass mortalities have been reported, NPWS Conservation Rangers continue to monitor the situation.
The virus has been detected throughout Europe, in wild rabbits, hares and seemingly unrelated species including voles and shrews. The Irish hare is native to Ireland and found nowhere else and should this disease prove as infectious and lethal here as it has done elsewhere in Europe, the impact on the hare could be catastrophic.
Dr. Ferdia Marnell of the NPWS Scientific Unit outlined his concerns: “Rabbits are central to wild ecosystems, being the main food for many predators from stoats to eagles that in turn regulate other animal populations. A decline in our wild rabbits will have numerous knock-on consequences. Of further concern is the potential for the disease to spread through the Irish hare population.”
The disease is highly contagious and can be spread directly between animals and in the faeces and urine of infected animals, as well as by insects and on human clothing. In addition the incubation period may last several days and apparently uninfected animals may in fact be carriers. Under these circumstances 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
Accordingly the Department has decided to suspend the licences issued to the Irish Coursing Club to capture and tag hares for the 2019/20 hare coursing season with immediate effect until a clearer understanding of the extent, spread and implications of the RHD2 virus emerges.
Dr. Marnell stressed “that the Rabbit Haemorrhagic disease presents absolutely no threat to human health and it is entirely safe to handle infected or recently dead rabbits or hares provided normal hygiene is followed”.
The public – particularly landowners, farmers, vets and the hare coursing community – is being asked to be on high alert and to report any suspected sightings of diseased rabbits and hares as soon as possible to help efforts to monitor and control the disease.
This can be done by contacting the NPWS by Email (nature.conservation@chg.gov.ie.) or Phone (1890 383 000).
Dr Neil Reid, a Conservation Biologist at Queen’s University Belfast, who is also tracking the disease across the island warns of the significant impact this could have on the wild ecosystem. He said “I am asking people to be on high alert, to report any suspected sightings of diseased rabbits and, particularly hares, as soon as possible so we can monitor this rapidly developing situation as it unfolds. This is an example of how citizen science can really contribute to conservation biology.”
https://www.chg.gov.ie/deadly-disease-found-in-irish-hares-and-rabbits-public-asked-to-report-any-sightings-irish-coursing-club-licences-suspended-with-immediate-effect/