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Canon apologises for offence caused by coursing photo
07 February 2012
Canon Ireland has apologised for the offence caused by a hare coursing photo in a calendar sponsored by the company. The photo appears in a 2012-13 calendar published by the Irish Independent (in association with Canon) and shows the unleashing of greyhounds at a 1979 coursing meeting in Clonmel.
In a complaint to Canon, ICABS commented:
"For those who abhor cruelty and respect wildlife, 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 Canon customers and 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."
In response, a Canon spokesperson apologised for the offence caused.
"The aim of the calendar was to capture images though the decades, each telling their own stories in a manner unique to their times," he said. "Canon did not have any input or influence on the selection of photographs which was done by the Irish Independent. As Canon takes its social and environmental responsibilities seriously, I have passed your complaint on to relevant parties involved in the publication of the calendar."
ICABS thanks Canon for this response. We are renewing our call on the Irish Independent to keep coursing out of its calendars and to exclude coursing from its "sports" pages.
| The coursing image which appeared on the January 2013 page of the Irish Independent / Canon Ireland calendar. |
ACTION ALERT
Please join our appeal to the Irish Independent.
Mr Gerry O'Regan
The Editor
Irish Independent
Email: info@independent.ie
Tel: +353 (0)1 705 5333
ACTION ALERT
Contact all your local TDs now. Tell them you are one of the majority who want coursing banned. Remind them that coursing is already illegal in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Urge them to respect the wishes of the majority of the electorate and back the anti-coursing bill being introduced by Maureen O'Sullivan, TD and Clare Daly, TD.
Find out the names of your TDs and their email addresses.
http://www.oireachtas.ie/members%2Dhist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=31&disp=const
http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Members_emails/document1.htm
If you prefer to post a letter to your TDs, address your correspondence to:
Dáil Éireann
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2.
How to eliminate the hare from coursing
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