Coursing is as bad as stag hunting
WHILE grateful to the Green Party for succeeding in getting the indefensible cruelty of stag hunting banned, I hope the Government will not stop there. If this bloodsport merits abolition, then surely the case for banning live hare coursing is even more compelling?
There was only one stag hunt in the country. But coursing occurs in almost every county, with Kerry and Clare being notable blackspots for this recreational animal cruelty.
Thousands of hares are captured with nets, all of them subjected to the terror of the chase on coursing day and the immeasurable stress of a captivity that goes completely against nature.
Many hares are injured by the dogs or in captivity, or when being netted.
The brittle-boned hare's injuries do not heal, so it has to be put down or left to die.
The beaters involved in the rounding up of hares destroy the animal's already threatened habitats, stampeding through fields in their search for them.
The conservation status of the Irish hare is already listed as "poor" on the National Parks and Wildlife Service website owing to loss of habitat.
John Gormley is the minister who has the power to issue a licence each autumn allowing hares to be netted by coursing clubs for their cruel "sport".
Having banned stag hunting, he should move now to further enhance his status as a truly Green minister and do the decent thing: tell the Irish Coursing Club where to stick its upcoming application.
Chris Morris
Loughboy, Kilkenny
Irish Independent
