How heartening is the news that more than 1,200 hares that were held captive by coursing clubs nationwide have been released back into the wild.

A character in my novel Time to Stop Running did something similar, if on a smaller scale, when she turned loose fifty or so hares that were due to be coursed.

For me, it was case of life imitating art when all those animals were set free this week following a huge campaign.

I imagine there are many irate coursing fans out there lamenting the loss of those fleet-footed captives, but I’m sure they’ll find something else to amuse themselves during lockdown.  Who can really begrudge the hares their freedom?

I hope the freed hares enjoy their spell in the wide open countryside, where they belong, because coursing is still legal and once the Level Five Covid restrictions end the net men will be back, in search of a new batch of runners.

There hares needs real protection, because it faces a multi-pronged threat from loss of habitat, hunting and coursing. A sub-species of the Mountain Hare that is unique to Ireland, this native mammal survived the last Ice Age of 10,000 years ago and was probably around for eons before that.

Having come this far, it would be pity if it disappeared from the landscape...to survive only in our folklore, artwork, and sad reminiscence. I hope that my own book, though a fanciful tale, will help to foster an awareness of this wonderful masterpiece of nature and boost the campaign to ban hare coursing:

Link to info on book:

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