Letters to the Editor: Coursing is an unnecessary stress on our hares

EDITOR – The findings of a study which examined the survival of hares captured for coursing must compel Heritage Minister Darragh O’Brien to stop licensing this cruel bloodsport.

A total of 40 hares were taken from their habitats and held in captivity for weeks.

Half of them were used for coursing and the others, for comparison purposes, were spared the ordeal.

After release back to the wild, their movements were tracked using GPS collars.

Contrary to a claim by Minister O’Brien that ‘there was no evidence that coursed hares suffered higher levels of mortality than hares that were not coursed’, two of the coursed hares were found dead, compared to one uncoursed hare.

And 28 of the 40 hares went missing – most of these were hares who had been terrorised by dogs in coursing. The study report emphasised that ‘coursed hares were significantly more likely to be lost from this study (17/20 or 85%) than uncoursed hares (11/20 or 55%) ... and the rate of loss of coursed hares was significantly faster than uncoursed hares’.

There is no doubt that interfering with hares, removing them from their natural environments and putting them in stressful and dangerous situations is bad for the welfare of these timid, solitary animals.

Minister O’Brien must act in the best interests of the iconic Irish hare and refuse 2023-24 coursing licences.

Philip Kiernan

Irish Council Against Blood Sports,

Mullingar,

Co Westmeath

Ireland’s gun lobby is spitting gunpowder

EDITOR – Ireland’s pro-gun movement is spitting gunpowder.

The source of their cordite ire appears to be two reports issued by the Firearms Expert Committee (FEC) earlier this year, which included recommended changes to the firearm licensing regime in Ireland.

These reports, their recommendations, and the process that led to them have been met with rejection. Gun owners see any attempt to overhaul firearm ownership/usage as a government-led plot to deny their self-appointed right to use their firearms ‘recreationally’ to kill birds and animals.

Whatever about the merits and demerits of the proposed changes, the odium heaping on James Browne, Minister of State with responsibility for law reform, who has the task of putting legislative manners on Ireland’s pro-gun lobby, is bordering on personal abuse.

Given that Ireland’s firearms users are not used to targets hitting back, one hopes that this is a gunfight in which the legislative pen proves mightier than the cocked gun.

John Tierney, 

Association of Hunt Saboteurs,
PO Box 4734,
Dublin 1

Government must love the distraction of RTÉ

EDITOR – The Irish government must be rubbing their hands with glee – due to the ongoing controversy relating to RTÉ.

Gone from the front pages of national newspapers are the ongoing problems related to homelessness, hospital waiting lists, shortage of GPs, housing, support to parents of children with special needs, the children’s hospital, to mention but a few (and of course the conference centre in Cork).

It must be a relief for the government, with all the attention deflected from ongoing more serious problems.

Michael A Moriarty,
Rochestown,
Cork

No celebration in abortion bill change

THE decision by a slim majority of TDs to support the passage of Deputy Brid Smith’s Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Bill amendment that aims to further extend the parameters under which an abortion may be accessed has left me feeling shocked and deeply sad. 

I say this, not only with regard to the provisions of the Bill itself, but also with regard to the incomprehensible levels of glee and delight that the vote occasioned among its supporters. 

What on earth is there to celebrate about bringing abortions for any reason, up to the point of viability, one step closer to becoming a legal and medical reality?

What is there to celebrate about removing the three-day reflection period given the life-or-death nature of the decision that an abortion entails? 

There is much to celebrate in our beautiful country. This Bill is not among those things.

Annette Condon
Golden,

Cashel,

Co Tipperary