Photos: ‘Dinosaurs’ Call On TDs, Taoiseach to Ban Hare Coursing
Photos: ‘Dinosaurs’ Call On TDs, Taoiseach to Ban Hare Coursing
Dublin – Today, a pack of “dinosaurs” from PETA confronted politicians returning from summer recess with a pointed message: “Hare Coursing Is Prehistoric” and “Make Hare Coursing Extinct”. Ireland is alone among neighbouring countries in still allowing the blood sport, in which terrified hares are chased and sometimes killed by greyhounds – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales and have banned the practice – and in 2019, 77% of the Irish public said they want a ban in Ireland, too.
High-resolution images are also available here.
“Hare coursing is a cruel ordeal that’s terrifying for hares, who are caught with nets and boxes and then tattooed, spray-painted, or microchipped before they’re chased down by dogs,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “Ireland lags behind the times and its neighbours in failing to ban this blood sport, and PETA urges Irish leaders to finally take a stand for 21st century values.”
Previously, actor and PETA US Honorary Director Pamela Anderson wrote to Taoiseach Micheál Martin imploring him to ban hare coursing, which Anderson called “someone’s twisted idea of amusement”. Hares used for coursing are caught in the countryside, and many never see their homes again. The fear and stress of being chased can cause heart failure and sudden death, and those who are hit or caught by the dogs may be mauled to death or die later from shock or injuries.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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