Sir, - Over the holiday season, hares were hunted and killed in large numbers by the fieldsport fraternity. Despite the muzzling of greyhounds, several maulings occurred at enclosed coursing events. So much for the commitment in 1993 by the then Minister for Agriculture that muzzling would "eliminate the cruelty from this country sport".The crowning horror of all this barbarism is an activity known as blooding. Many coursing meetings are preceded by a training session in which live rabbits, hares, and even cats are fed to the dogs to make them more aggressive.At two venues, one outside Roscommon town and the other in Co Limerick - the season of peace and goodwill was marred by this obscenity. These incidents are typical of what happens countrywide at blooding sessions.At the Roscommon venue, men were seen dangling rabbits over greyhounds while other people held the dogs on leashes. After minutes of teasing, the creatures were tossed into the air and the greyhounds released to devour them.At the Co Limerick venue, a transparent bag containing a litter of four or five new-born kittens was used as bait. The victims were clearly alive when a trainer secured the bag to the upper section of a wooden stake. The dogs were held back for a short while until they had worked themselves into a frenzy of bloodlust. When unleased, they obliterated their "quarry".The abuse of domestic animals in coursing is quite common. Cats are easier and cheaper to obtain than hares or even rabbits, and are valued as training material because their skin is tougher. Blooding is widespread and on the increase, especially in Munster. Only a total ban on coursing will end this nightmarish practice. - Yours, etc.John Fitzgerald,Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports,Callan,Co Kilkenny.