Irish coursing club has gardai visit.

by John Fitzgerald Fri Sep 11, 2009 02:13

In relation to the Irish Coursing Club’s application to the Department of the Environment for a license to net hares for another hare coursing season, we have asked the Department bear the following points in mind:

1) The Irish Hare is designated as an endangered species in Ireland (see Red Data Book) and this fact remains a compelling argument against the Government granting the hare-netting license regardless of what those wheedling pro-hare coursing mandarins within the government's advisary service "advise" to the contrary. Hare stock numbers may be marginally up or down from year to year or from month to month, but the very clear overall trend is downwards. And the trend towards local extinction of the species continues.

For that reason, we suggest, the Department of the Environment should overrule the “business as usual” snivelling approach of those un-elected and unaccountable “advisers” within the Department who wish the Minister to go down the “traditional” well-travelled Fianna Fail corrupt route of simply granting the license because it is the easy option and a sop to the FF branches and coursing clubs around the country.

2) Northern Ireland, which has a similar hare density to that of the Republic, has suspended all hunting and coursing of hares due to its poor conservation status.

3) The organisation to which the Department of the Environment is requested to grant the license, the Irish Coursing Club, is currently being investigated by the Garda Fraud Squad for serious alleged criminal offences. We have been hearing reports in recent days about a Garda investigation into the ICC’s affairs but have now received confirmation that the ICC is indeed at the centre of a major Garda crime probe.

We believe that it is entirely inappropriate that the Government should be seen to be granting a license to the ICC while this criminal investigation is ongoing, apart altogether from the conservation and animal welfare issues involved in the granting of the license, and the fact that Green party has an established track record of upholding the highest ethical standards in politics, and public life generally.

We have therefore urged the Oireachtas to ensure the decisive rejection of the ICC’s application for a license to net hares for another season of Fianna Fail backed deliberate cruelty to animals, for the reasons stated above.

Thanking you for your kind attention,

Sincerely,

John Fitzgerald
(Campaign for the Abolition
of Cruel Sports)

by ICABS - Irish Council Against Blood Sports Fri Sep 11, 2009 14:50

Please support our urgent action alert to Environment Minister John Gormley to refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club. Telephone / email / fax the Minister now:

Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Email: minister@environ.ie

help the hares

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Urge Green Party leader to stop licensing cruelty

by ICABS - Irish Council Against Blood Sports Fri Sep 11, 2009 15:08

Please urge Minister John Gormley to refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club.
Email Minister Gormley now at minister@environ.ie or phone 00353 (0)1 888 2403

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Ban coursing in Ireland