Sir, – With wildlife under ecological threat across our island, it feels a bit bizarre that animal protection groups and conservationists should have to speak out again against the granting of a coursing license.
It’s the time of year when the Government will probably sign off on another season of hare coursing by permitting the capture of thousands of hares nationwide.
The licence doesn’t have to be issued. It can be refused if the Government so chooses.
The case against coursing is unanswerable and has been made repeatedly over the past 60 years.
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But our leaders appear to think only of votes and their own political self-interest.
A little animal must twist and dodge on a field to avoid being mauled, tossed about like a broken toy, or having its bones crushed.
Animal welfare aside, the Irish hare, one of our few truly native mammals, has been in continuous decline for the past half century, mainly due to habitat loss resulting from urbanisation and the impact of modern agriculture.
This is not just a fashionable “green” issue.
Opposition to hare coursing predates the green movement by decades. It’s about being human and not allowing deliberate cruelty to animals dressed up as “sport”.
I hope that this year the Government will opt to ban this obscene practice. – Yours, etc,
JOHN FITZGERALD,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny.