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Take the hare out of coursing
09 August 2007
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is calling for the Irish Hare to be taken out of coursing in Ireland. We are bringing to the attention of Minister John Gormley a series of video presentations which show the humane alternative - drag coursing. It is clear from these that there is absolutely no need for hares in coursing. In the coming weeks, Minister Gormley will be making a decision on the licensing of hare coursing. Licences in previous years have allowed the forceful removal of thousands of hares from their natural habitats in the Irish countryside. After being netted, these most timid and gentle of creatures have been kept in captivity for up to two months and eventually forced to run for their lives in front of muzzled greyhounds. Hares have died from after being mauled into the ground by the dogs and also from the stress of being confined and chased. Captured hares are at risk of dying before, during and after coursing meetings. Please click on the eight selected video presentations below and see for yourself how easy it is to replace the hare with an inanimate lure. Drag coursing (also known as lure coursing) is simple to set up in any field and provides greyhounds and other dogs with the same chase experience - the plastic lure can be speeded up or slowed down and, by using a series of pulleys, its course can be varied to make it unpredictable to the dogs. There is no excuse for live hare coursing in 2007. The time has now come for drag coursing to replace this cruel blood sport. Please urgently join us in calling on Minister Gormley to refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club. Ask as many of your friends and family to join our appeal.
ACTION ALERT
Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and ask him to save the Irish Hare from the cruelty of coursing.
Sample Letter
Minister John Gormley
Email: minister@environ.ie
Dear Minister Gormley, I have watched the Drag Coursing video presentations on the Irish Council Against Blood Sports' website and I agree entirely that the existence of this humane alternative makes it totally unnecessary for hares to be used in coursing in Ireland. Drag coursing is practised successfully in England, the USA and Australia and there is no reason for a modern and civilised country like Ireland to reject it. The greyhounds and other dogs used can be seen enthusiastically chasing the artificial lure which is dragged along the ground. The speed of the lure can be changed during each course and the direction it takes through the system of pulleys can also be set up to emulate the movements of a live lure. After watching the video footage, I am sure that you will agree that there is absolutely no excuses for hares to be used in coursing. I urge you to take the hare out of coursing and refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club. Thanks very much, Minister. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, Name/Location
More information about hare coursing
Coursing: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition
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