(Letter in Irish Examiner- March 5th and Sunday Independent- March 8th))
Sobs of hares cry for our protection
I enjoyed a recent talk on the peculiar habits and culinary tastes of our native Irish Hare, a creature feted in literature and Celtic mythology and that took pride of place on our threepenny bit back in the days when the Euro wasn’t even dreamt of.
But I can’t help but lament the way this gentle and inoffensive creature has fared at the hands of misguided human beings.
People on nature walks occasionally report hearing an injured hare emit an “almost human cry.” I too have heard that haunting sound, which has been likened in verse and song to that of the mythological Banshee of Irish folklore, but not while walking in the countryside. It assailed my hearing at coursing events I attended as an observer for an animal welfare group.
One minute the fans are all laughing and cheering, marking their cards, urging on the dogs they’ve backed to win...then a silence interjects as the hare’s cry rises, piercing the winter air like a siren: A heart-rending but futile cry for help because, unfortunately, the law permits the use of hares in this blood sport.
In 1993 and again in 2016 I hoped I had heard the childlike sobbing and wailing of the hare for the last time when Bills proposing a ban on coursing were tabled in the Dail. But these were heavily defeated, allowing man’s inhumanity dressed up as sport to continue staining the Irish countryside.
Muzzling of greyhounds only made the cruelty less visible: Instead of pulling the hares apart, the dogs can pummel or maul them, crushing their brittle bones and still eliciting that shriek that can rattle your soul.
Having survived the last Ice Age of 10,000 years ago, and the ravages of habitat loss resulting from urbanisation and modern agriculture, does this iconic creature not deserve a break from having to swerve and dodge in a latter-day coliseum?
I note that among the newly elected TDs are quite a few who say they oppose hare coursing and would vote for a ban. I hope they can make that aspiration a reality so that the Irish Hare becomes a truly protected species, as distinct from one that is fair game for cruelty.
It’s time to call off the dogs.
John Fitzgerald,
Callan
Co Kilkenny
- Please contact Ireland’s political leaders and urge them to ban bloodsports in Ireland.
Leo Varadkar
Leader, Fine Gael
Government Buildings,
Upper Merrion St, Dublin 2
Telephone: 01-619 4020
Email: taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Constituency Office
137 Evergreen Road,
Turner’s Cross, Cork
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
You might also like to sign and share online petition calling for a ban on blood sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland
- Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes re my novel "Time to Stop Running", in which I attempt to highlight the cause of the hare via a work of fiction. It's fantasy, but I'm delighted that the story of "Tipsy" the Psychic Hare is being read around the world and has focused minds on why this wonderful animal needs to be protected in Ireland and elsewhere. Here's a link to info about the book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Stop-Running-John-Fitzgerald-ebook/dp/B07KK1F53Z
