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Hare coursing club gets slap on the wrist for intimidating ranger
23 October 2014
A coursing club that intimidated a National Parks ranger got a mere slap on the wrist by way of a letter, telling them not to do that again. In a Dail reply this week, Minister Heather Humphreys claimed that her approach "worked satisfactorily”.
Yesterday (October 22 2014) in Dail Eireann, Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked Minister for Arts and Heritage, Heather Humphreys why a hare coursing club that had intimidated a National Parks Ranger during a coursing meeting last year, was not sanctioned for their actions.
The Liscannor hare coursing club breached their licence conditions by intimidating the Ranger in the course of her duties. In her report (accessed by ICABS under FOI) the Ranger stated that she “wished to check the paddock on the morning of the (hare) releases but was unable to due to lack of cooperation and intimidation”.
All the coursing club got from National Parks head honchos and the Minister was a slap on the wrist by way of a letter, telling them not to do that again, which the Minister claimed was an “approach” that “worked satisfactorily”
Intimidating a ranger in the course of his/her duties is a serious transgression and should not be tolerated under any circumstances, and this club should have been sanctioned by withdrawing their licence for this coursing season at least and a prosecution taken under the Wildlife Act, but a mere slap on the wrist and a letter to the coursing bullies was all that was forthcoming. Not good enough, and totally disrespectful and undermining of the Wildlife Ranger in the course of her duties.
And this wasn’t the only breach - Mallow coursing club (whose 2014 coursing meeting continues today) refused to cooperate with another Wildlife Ranger by failing to turn up for a meeting to oversee the release of hares. The ranger stated in her report: “When I returned there (to the coursing field) at 16.00 and waited until 17.30, they did not arrive. While arranging this meeting they avoided giving me a mobile number by saying the organiser had no mobile and shrugging when I asked for someone else’s.”
And interestingly, both these incidents related to the Rangers checking the hares on release - what was it that the coursers didn’t want the Rangers to see? And do the National Parks & Wildlife Service HQ and the Minister really care?
ACTION ALERTS
Express your support for a ban on coursing. Sign and share petitions
Stop Licensing Cruel Hare Coursing
Save Irish hares from cruel coursing
Ban horrific hare coursing cruelty in Ireland
Stop sponsoring hare coursing in Ireland
Urge Minister Heather Humphreys to show compassion for the persecuted Irish Hare and revoke the coursing licence she issued.
Email "Stop the cruelty. Revoke the hare coursing licence" to Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie
[Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie,ministers.office@ahg.gov.ie,taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie,joan.burton@oireachtas.ie,wildlifelicence@ahg.gov.ie,Gerry.Leckey@ahg.gov.ie]
Tel: (01) 631 3802 or (01) 631 3800
Leave a comment on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/heather.humphreysfg
Tweet to Heather Humphreys: @HHumphreysFG
Tweet to @HHumphreysFG
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the short sample letter below. Be assertive, but polite, in all correspondence. Thank you.)
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Dear Minister,
I am one of the majority who want hare coursing outlawed. I am writing to urge you to revoke the licence you issued to the Irish Coursing Club. In coursing, hares suffer at all stages - during the capture, during the time they are kept in captivity and during the coursing meetings where they run for their lives in front of greyhounds. Among the injuries recorded are broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips. Every season, hare injuries and deaths are documented. I ask you to please act on the wishes of the majority, show compassion and permanently revoke the licence. Thank you. Yours sincerely, [Name/Location] |
Appeal to the Minister for Agriculture
Please appeal to the Minister for Agriculture to remove an exemption for hare coursing from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Simon Coveney, TD
Minister for Agriculture
Agriculture House,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Email: Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie
Tel: 01-607 2884 or LoCall 1890-200510.
Fax: 01-661 1013.
Urgently contact An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and ask him to back a ban on hare coursing.
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny
Department of the Taoiseach,
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion Street,
Dublin 2
Telephone: 01-6194020
Fax: 01-6764048
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
Contact all your local TDs now. Demand that they urgently push for a ban on hare coursing and all bloodsports. 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 a ban.
Find out their contact details
Please also arrange a meeting with your TDs at their local clinics.
Make a donation to ICABS
Please consider making a 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.
