|
|
Save the hares in Dungannon
23rd October, 2003 The Irish Council Against Blood Sports is today calling on the Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen, to act swiftly to stop a coursing meeting from going ahead in Dungannon, Co Tyrone this Saturday, October 25th. The Dungannon coursing club are in possession of hares which were snatched from the wild in the Republic. It is an offence in Northern Ireland to net hares from the wild, but Dungannon coursing club has admitted that the hares in their compound are from the South. However, the licence to net hares from the wild for coursing, issued by Martin Cullen, does not cover Northern clubs. We call on Minister Cullen to ask the Irish Coursing Club to explain why Dungannon, not covered by the licence, is holding these hares and to immediately demand their return to the wild in the south. Urgent Action Item Please Phone/Fax/Email the Minister today and demand that he intervenes to save the hares from this club's coursing meeting and to ensure that the animals are returned immediately to the wild. CONTACT DETAILS
Minister Martin Cullen
Tel: 1890-202021 (Locall) (Request to speak to Minister Cullen's Secretary)
Email: minister@environ.irlgov.ie Make this the last coursing season in Ireland Meanwhile, here in the South, it's business as usual for the 90 odd coursing clubs up and down the country which have recently been licensed by Environment Minister, Martin Cullen, to net approx. 10,000 hares from the wild for use as live lures before greyhounds. The Minister continues to assert that "there is clearly no evidence that hare coursing adversely impacts on hare populations." Yet he has no scientific evidence to prove this. In Northern Ireland, a number of studies in recent years have pointed to the fact that hares are at a low density. Surely, the Northern Ireland situation should set alarm bells ringing down here. We call on Minister Martin Cullen to follow the example of Northern Ireland and immediately withdraw the licence from hare coursers to net timid and defenceless hares from the wild for cruelty, abuse and unnecessary exploitation in what is an outdated and utterly barbaric activity. Action Items Phone/Fax/Email Minister Martin Cullen CONTACT DETAILS
Minister Martin Cullen
Tel: 1890-202021 (Locall) (Request to speak to Minister Cullen's Secretary)
Email: minister@environ.irlgov.ie Contact your local politicians Eight in ten Irish people want to see coursing banned in Ireland. We desperately need to keep reminding the politicians about this enormous opposition to coursing and demanding that they work towards making it illegal in Ireland. Please write to all of your local politicians and ask them to support the campaign against coursing and other blood sports. Encourage your friends and family to contact them too. We need as much help with this campaign as possible. Thank you.
Write to your TD at:
Write to your Senator at:
For the names and contact details of politicians, please visit the Irish Government website at www.irlgov.ie.
Coursing Cruelty: Further Information For more information on hare coursing cruelty in Ireland, please visit our updated Ban Hare Coursing website at www.banbloodsports.com/coursing. The site includes details for the current season along with a photo gallery, video clips and petitions. Please sign our Ban Blood Sports in Ireland petition.
|
