Millstreet is a picturesque town in County Cork, Ireland, nestling in some of finest picture postcard scenery.

But each year the local town park is taken over for a whole month by a hare coursing club. Between December 6th and January 1st, Locals are banned from walking, sitting on the chairs in the park, or engaging in any recreational activity for the period during which the coursing clubs turns the park into a virtual prison for hares. They snatch up to eighty hares from the surrounding countryside for their cruel fixture.

The hares manhandled and “tested for performance” throughout their month in captivity and then, on coursing day, they are forced to run from pairs of greyhounds. They can be mauled, have their bones broken, or get tossed about like rag dolls by the dogs while fans cheer and laugh and mark their gambling cards.

This year, locals intend to mount a protest against the use of their town park for coursing. But they need support. The coursers are politically well-connected and will do anything to get their way.

One local woman openly declared on national radio that would like to release the captive hares if she could. And there have been appeals to Ireland’s Heritage Minister to order their release.

It remains to be seen if the hares WILL be freed, whether on the orders of the Minister (unlikely, I’m told) or as a result of action by locals or hunt saboteurs.

Meanwhile, the hares huddle in terror on the grounds of Millstreet Town Park, occasionally guarded by coursing officials.

You can leave a message on the Millstreet Facebook page, calling for the immediate release of the captive hares... back into the wild they belong.

Heres’ the link: https://www.facebook.com/millstreet.ie/