Gardaí are investigating an animal cruelty case in which live hares have been fed to greyhounds by teenagers in a series of incidents in a housing estate and park in west Dublin.
The investigation began after a member of the public saw a group of teenagers taking two live hares from a sack and throwing them to a number of greyhounds.
The hares were killed and dismembered instantly by the dogs.
The incident took place in St Cuthbert's Park, Deansrath, Clondalkin, on the afternoon of Saturday, March 11th. Garda patrols around the park have since been increased.
Gardaí believe the teenagers involved were engaging in the illegal practice of "blooding".
They believe the hares were being thrown to the dogs to be killed in order to give the greyhounds a taste for blood.
They believe the animals were then taken hunting for hares and rabbits, most likely as part of their training for greyhound racing.
After gardaí received the complaint, the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA) and South Dublin County Council's dog wardens became involved in the investigation.
It subsequently emerged that the incident in St Cuthbert's Park was only one in a series of similar cases.
A spokesman for the DSPCA said his organisation had learned of a number of illegal blooding cases involving live hares in the area.
He said some of these had taken place on the street in the Deansrath housing estate.
The DSPCA had received other reports of attacks taking place in the grounds of a company in the Clondalkin area.
The DSPCA has identified two houses in the Deansrath estate some of whose residents it believes have been involved in the incidents.
Members of the organisation visited the houses last week but the residents were not at home. To date they have failed to respond to calling cards.
The DSPCA is expected to visit the houses again with gardaí as early as today.
Tony Gregory TD (Ind) who has raised the matter with the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the reports of cruelty to the hares were "sickening".
He said animal welfare needed to be made more of a priority in some State agencies.
"I'd congratulate the person who reported it in the first place. But there must be more people out there who have seen things like this and they must come forward to the gardaí."
