Social media sites abound with pictures of hunters posing with the carcasses of lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, giraffes and other creatures; magnificent specimens that once graced jungles, plains or parklands...now reduced to pathetic drooping hulks, their glazed eyes staring blankly at the camera in contrast to the beaming smiles of their killers.

Meanwhile, smaller, less exotic animals run from dogs and their human masters here in Ireland. The fox faces a two-pronged threat. Lamping gangs prey on them under cover of darkness, dazzling the wily creatures before peppering them with lead.

"Sportspeople" of a different vintage set off on horseback through a Christmas landscape behind packs of ravenous hounds. Their purpose: To chase a fox until it collapses from exhaustion.

They watch; sipping from stirrup cups, as the fox has the skin ripped from its bones. Then, like the big game hunters, they pose for pictures.

Lower down the perceived social ladder, but equally lethal in their hostility to wildlife, are the hare coursers. They snatch the gentlest creatures in the countryside to perform for them. They roar like the frenzied Romans of old in the coliseum as terrified captives dodge their pursuers. They look on, impassive and uncaring, when hares are pinned down by the dogs, or flung high into the air .

You’d wonder sometimes if our absence from the planet would be a blessing to so many other species. Sadly, we appear likely to take most or all of them with us in our seemingly unstoppable march towards extinction.

* Thanks to all who've asked their local libraries to acquire copies of my anti-blood sport novel "Time to Stop Running". This will help to spread the message via a work of fiction about how animals are treated by misguided and cruel humans. Many people dislike ordering books online and prefer calling to a "real world" library. Apart from that, it means so much to be able reach readers in this way at a time when the future of libraries is itself focusing the minds of educators and readers worldwide.

For any libraries (or readers generally) interested, following is a link to the Amazon page from which the book can be ordered. (This is the Amazon UK link, but it's also available from Amazon USA, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, etc)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Stop-Running-John-Fitzgerald-ebook/dp/B07KK1F53Z/

Thanking you,John Fitzgerald
(Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports)