Paul Murphy TD, a member of Ireland's parliament, will later this year move a Bill that aims to ban the cruel practice of live hare coursing, which continues in Ireland against the wishes of a big majority of the population.
Thousands of hares are captured in the countryside each autumn and used as live bait for pairs of greyhounds. Bets are placed on the competing dogs, with no concern for the unfortunate hares that are mauled, forcibly struck, and tossed about like paper toys, their screams piercing the winter air. A hare's cry of distress has been likened to that of a baby sobbing. But to the fans who care only about prize money or the "thrill of the chase" its sad fate means nothing.
Apart from the cruelty of coursing, the very survival of the Irish Hare as a species is threatened by the RHD2 Virus that is fatal to hares and highly contagious. The use of nets by coursing clubs to capture hares has been identified as a significant factor in the spread of the disease. Another reason why coursing should be banned immediately.
Please ask Ireland's political leaders to support the Bill to ban hare coursing and end this nightmarish cruelty.
You can send a single email to all of them in one go. Here is the block of addresses:
taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie, finegael@finegael.ie, micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie, marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie, alan.kelly@oir.ie, eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie, catherine.murphy@oireachtas.ie
If you wish to contact them individually here are the contact details.
Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Alan Kelly TD
Leader, Labour Party
Email: alan.kelly@oir.ie
Eamon Ryan TD,
Green Party
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Catherine Murphy TD,
Leader, Social Democrats
Email: catherine.murphy@oireachtas.ie
Here is Paul Murphy speaking about his new Bill to ban hare coursing:
https://www.facebook.com/paulmurphytd/videos/542155243391892/
Thank you.