Nature park confirms no permission given to coursers to net hares 26 May 2010 The management of Millstreet Country Park have informed the Irish Council Against Blood Sports that they did not give permission to a coursing club to net hares in their 500 acre nature attraction. The park was responding to correspondence from ICABS in which we brought to their attention a Millstreet Coursing Club form (obtained by ICABS via a Freedom of Information request to the National Parks & Wildlife Service) which states that 78 hares were captured in "Millstreet Country Park & Surrounds" on 19 days between November 15th and December 21st 2009. The form was signed by a representative of the club and forwarded to the NPWS by the Chief Executive of the Irish Coursing Club. ICABS welcomes Millstreet Country Park's statement that they did not give permission to coursers to take any hares from the park. We have forwarded a copy of the Millstreet Coursing Club form to Minister John Gormley (who licensed the 2009-10 hare coursing season) and asked him to investigate the matter. The Millstreet Coursing Club form which states that 78 hares were captured from "Millstreet Country Park & surrounds" on 19 days last November and December.  ACTION ALERT  Urge Minister John Gormley to stop licensing coursing. Minister John Gormley Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Custom House, Dublin 1. Email: minister@environ.ie [CC An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen] Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640. SAMPLE LETTER (If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.) Dear Minister Gormley, I am one of the majority of Irish citizens who want the hare to be allowed to live free from persecution by coursing and hare hunting clubs. In coursing, hares continue to die at all stages - during the capture, during the time they are kept in captivity, during the coursing meetings and also subsequent to their release back to the wild. Such deaths have been documented by your NPWS division. These timid and fragile creatures die as a result of physical injuries or from the stress caused by human handling and being chased by greyhounds. I implore you to act on the wishes of the electorate and refuse any further licences for coursing. Thank you, Minister. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] In coursing, hares are cruelly snatched from the wild and forced to run for their lives in front of greyhounds. Further Reading The Facts About Hare Coursing Stress and Capture Myopathy in Hares Irish Hare: "conservation status is poor" Hares and rabbits factsheet Campaign Videos: Ban Coursing in Ireland More ICABS Videos More information about hare coursing Coursing: Leaflet | Photos | Videos | Petition Make a donation to ICABS Please consider making a small donation to ICABS. For more details, please click on the button below or follow this link to find out how to become a campaign supporter. Thank you. News Menu | Join | Top | Home