Tony Gregory urges Minister to ban coursing 06 September 2007 ICABS Vice-President, Tony Gregory, TD has urged Minister Gormley to refuse a licence to hare coursers. Deputy Gregory pointed to the horrific injuries suffered by coursed hares and reminded the Minister that a majority of Irish people want the blood sport outlawed. "I urge you not to grant a licence to the Irish Coursing Club," Deputy Gregory stated. "As Minister for the Environment you now have an opportunity to ensure that the cruelty to animals inherent in hare coursing is ended, a move which would be welcomed by a majority of people." Video Presentation: The cruelty of coursing in Ireland Photos: Hares suffering during coursing meetings A hare is mauled into the ground by a muzzled greyhound during a coursing meeting. This is one of the thousands of hares cruelly captured in the Irish countryside every year for use in the blood sport. ACTION ALERT Please contact Environment Minister, John Gormley, and ask him to save the Irish Hare from the cruelty of coursing. Sample Letter (Please compose your own personal letter if possible. If you do not have time to do this, please send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.) Minister John Gormley Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Custom House, Dublin 1. Email: minister@environ.ie Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640. Dear Minister Gormley, I am one of the majority of Irish people opposed to hare coursing and I am writing to implore you to ban this vile activity. It is clear from video evidence and photographs - along with official National Parks and Wildlife Service reports - that a deplorable level of animal cruelty is inherent in coursing. It is bad enough that hares are forcefully removed from their habitats in nets and kept in captivity for up to two months or more. But this is just the beginning of their ordeal. On the coursing fields they run for their lives ahead of muzzled greyhounds; it's not difficult to imagine the fear and stress they suffer - indeed, at one meeting, 40 hares died as a result of stress-related illness. Neither is it difficult to imagine the pain endured by the hares whose fragile bodies are violently mauled into the ground by the dogs, resulting in grave internal injuries and broken bones. Some are battered so severely that they drop dead or have to be put down. Minister, the time has come for coursing to be banned. Please take this opportunity to bring Ireland into line with our neighbours in England, Scotland and Wales where this appalling blood sport is already illegal. Thank you. I look forward to your positive reply. Yours sincerely, Name/Location News Menu | Join | Top | Home