Madam, - Sean Mac Connell's tongue-in-cheek piece about the Irish hare (An Irishman's Diary, January 15th) was amusing and informative in some respects, but his view that hare numbers are increasing needs to be challenged.
In December 1993, Ireland's first Red Data Book on vertebrates, containing information on endangered mammals in Ireland, was published. The Irish hare was among the species deemed by a scrupulous panel of researchers to be vulnerable to legal hunting, which in the hare's case included the activities of coursing clubs. Since then, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has designated the Irish hare as "a species of the highest conservation concern".
Hare numbers have been declining for many years on both sides of the border. That is why the North's environment minister has suspended all coursing activities.
In the Republic, however, the organised netting and baiting of hares by coursing clubs continues unabated. Idiots wielding sticks and roaring like hyenas frighten them into captivity, abducting more than 7,000 of the timid creatures ever year.
While sounding off about protecting wildlife and the environment, the Government happily permits this cruel and stupid practice that results in hares being stolen from their natural habitat, confined in unnatural conditions, and then terrorised for the edification of gamblers and voyeurs.
A condition called stress myopathy kills off a high percentage of hares in captivity. This is because they cannot cope with being caged or enclosed.
Leaving aside the cruelty involved, this exploitation of the hare increases pressure on a species facing parallel threats from the monocultural tracts of grass and cereals that disrupt its living patterns and the removal of protective hedges.
Mr Mac Connell playfully suggests that we muzzle hares to prevent them from eating too much tree bark and munching into baby orchards. Instead, I believe, it would be better for our wildlife heritage if all the politicians who have glibly pledged their support to animal welfare groups over the years would now remove their self-imposed muzzles on the subject of coursing. They ought to stand up in the Dáil and press for an end to one of the world's most barbaric blood sports. - Yours, etc,
JOHN FITZGERALD, Callan, Co Kilkenny.