Sir, – Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan, has just given the green light to another live hare coursing season. He has licensed five months of this cruel and discredited blood sport, despite claiming to be a keen admirer of Lepus Timidus Hibernicus. Yet the thought of what actually happens to the hare on the coursing field doesn't appear to bother him. And it certainly doesn't bother the coursing clubs.
These profess to care deeply about the welfare of the species and fans routinely claim to love the hares, emphasising that they don’t derive pleasure from the mauling or tossing about of the animals by dogs, or the child-like scream that may accompany a lethal interaction between hare and greyhound. They only wish to see the hares give the dogs a good run, they insist. Prior to the big sporting occasion, they feed the hares all sorts of lovely vegetables. Pictures of the feeding process, complete with kindly greyhound owners and beaming officials, can be seen on coursing club websites. Their love affair with the animal they use as live bait is surely one of life’s great contradictions.
Although a passionate believer in conservation, there is one species I would dearly like to see become extinct: The Irish hare coursing enthusiast! – Yours, etc,
JOHN FITZGERALD,
Lower Coyne Street,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny.