Irish Independent asked to reject coursing
24 January 2012

ICABS is calling on the Irish Independent to reject hare coursing. The call follows the inclusion of a coursing image in a 2012-13 Independent calendar and the continued publication of coursing results in the paper's sports pages.

The January 2013 page of the calendar (in association with Canon Ireland) shows the unleashing of greyhounds at a 1979 coursing meeting in Clonmel. It was included with the 7th January 2012 edition of the newspaper.

In a letter to Independent editor, Gerry O'Regan, ICABS stated:

"For those who abhor cruelty and respect wildlife, it was disappointing to see the inclusion of a hare coursing image on the January 2013 page of the latest Irish Independent calendar. It is saddening that, out of an archive of thousands of photos, this animal cruelty scene from Clonmel was chosen. Hare coursing is opposed by a majority in Ireland (including, no doubt, a majority of Irish Independent readers) and most won't want to suffer the month-long sight of a heartless courser unleashing greyhounds to chase a hare which may very well have been caught and ripped apart."

The Irish Independent is also being asked to keep coursing off its sports pages. An activity involving the terrorisation, chasing, mauling and killing of hares could never be categorised as a sport and should have no place on these pages.

The coursing image which appeared on the January 2013 page of the Irish Independent / Canon Ireland calendar.

 ACTION ALERT 

Please join us in appealing to the Irish Independent to keep coursing out of its calendars and to exclude coursing from its sports pages.

Mr Gerry O'Regan
The Editor
Irish Independent

Email: info@independent.ie
Tel: +353 (0)1 705 5333

Contact calendar sponsor, Canon Ireland, and ask them to clarify their stance on hare coursing.

Tel: +353 1205 2400
Email via: www.canon.ie/Contact_Us/Feedback/feedback.aspx

The victims of coursing

All hares used in coursing are victims and they all suffer the fear and stress of being violently snatched from their habitats, thrown into crates, transported to coursing compounds and kept in captivity for months. Among the hare injuries and deaths recorded are:

• A hare "squealing in distress" after being caught by a muzzled dog
• A hare suffering with "a badly broken hind leg"
• A hare "carrying a hind leg"
• A hare with "a damaged hind toe"
• A coursed hare with a "badly broken hind leg [which] seemed to be in great distress"
• A hare in agony in a coursing enclosure with its leg "almost completely broken off".
• A hare destroyed by a vet after it was found suffering with a dislocated hip
• A hare that died "from knocks sustained during coursing"
• A hare released back into the wild with a "damaged leg" that "could be broken"
• A hare found dead in a coursing compound after succumbing to pneumonia.
• A vet treated three hares for "minor abrasions" and "witnessed three other hares that appeared to die after coursing without any outward signs of injury. One of these was sent to the local regional veterinary laboratory. Post-mortem findings included internal adhesions, suggestive of an old condition."
• Seven hares badly hit by greyhounds, with three dying as a result of the injuries.
• An injured hare with "marks on its back and bare areas".
• Two hares found dead in a coursing club paddock. An autopsy showed that one died from well established pneumonia while the other died from so-called "natural causes". Another died "during transportation from Loughrea to Westport."
• 13 hares hit by dogs and 1 put down because of injuries and 3 died from injuries. Veterinary opinion was that they died "from knocks sustained during coursing the previous day."

Slideshow: the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland

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