On Bank Holiday Monday (October 30th), two Irish anti bloodsport campaigners managed to film part of a cruel live hare coursing event at Ballinagar, County Offaly. They captured this footage (see link to it below)despite a frenzied attempt by the coursers to confiscate their camera. A masked man charged at them, screaming abuse and threats and demanding they hand over the camera. They were lucky to escape the scene, with the assailant hanging out of their car as it drove away, and roaring at them. The footage shows hares being set up as bait for greyhounds. Greyhounds as well as hares suffer in coursing...many dogs are injured and disposed of afterwards. Here is part of the statement from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS) about the Ballinagar incident and the latest footage of a "sport" that hates publicity: "...Our footage was filmed on Sunday morning and on Monday afternoon before we came under attack from a balaclava-clad courser thug who roared "give me that f***ing camera". The video captures the awful plight of hares used in coursing - a bloodsport shamefully licensed by Minister Heather Humphreys and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The terrorised hares - all cruelly netted from the wild - could be seen desperately running for their lives from the dogs during a coursing meeting in Ballinagar, County Offaly. We filmed a hare being hit hard and sent tumbling head over heels, a greyhound falling head-first into the ground and hares being chased back and forth across the field. Hare coursing is already illegal in all our neighbouring jurisdictions (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and a ban is long overdue here in the Republic. The time has come for the government to call a halt to the cruelty and ban on hare coursing..." ...End of Statement... You can help bring about a ban on hare coursing in Ireland by performing any or all of the following actions: * appeal to Ireland's Prime Minister ("Taoiseach" in Irish), Leo Varadkar: Email "Stop the cruelty - Ban hare coursing NOW" to taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, frances.fitzgerald@oir.ie * Or write to him at: An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar Department of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2 * Or Telephone: +353 (0)1-6194020 * Tweet to: @campaignforLeo * Or Leave a comment on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/campaignforleo/ * Or Contact Minister Heather Humphreys and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and urge them to withdraw the coursing licence and put in place permanent protection for hares. Email: Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie, ministers.office@ahg.gov.ie, wildlifelicence@ahg.gov.ie, Gerry.Leckey@ahg.gov.ie Tweet to: @HHumphreysFG