Members and supporters of several animal protection and conservation groups have protested outside the so-called "National Hare Coursing Festival" in Clonmel, County Tipperary Ireland. As hares ran from hyped-up greyhounds on a converted racecourse, these men and women braved ferocious weather conditions to voice their opposition to this organised cruelty to animals. Sadly, though a majority of Irish people favour a ban on hare coursing, the practise is kept alive by big business and crooked politicians.