Cub-hunting and netting of hares far from sports’ ideal

Even as we bask in the glory of Ireland’s sporting triumph, preparations are underway for activities that have never featured in the Olympics and that constitute an insult to the name of sport.

I refer to cub-hunting and the netting of hares for another coursing season. Though neither coursing nor fox hunting commences until October, the ordeal for the animals affected has already begun.

Cub-hunting, or “cubbing” as fans call it, is a practice whereby novice hounds are introduced to hunting. Coverts known to contain litters of fox cubs are surrounded by hunters, and all escape routes closed off. The dogs are then sent in to attack the cubs. The animals have no chance and are ripped asunder amid a frenzy of blood-crazed mayhem. Any cub that seeks refuge by escaping from the circle of death is beaten back with whips or well-aimed kicks from the hunters. The aim of cubbing is to give the dogs a taste for blood.

So, even before the savagery of fox hunting begins, this pathetic form of “training” for it despoils the Irish countryside.

The gentle hare is faring no better. Coursing clubs are out scouring the land for these iconic creatures. Nets are being laid to catch them in fields from Cork to Donegal, with stick-wielding gangs beating the bushes and shrieking like banshees to frighten them into captivity.

When caught, they will be held in readiness for public baiting sessions where they will be forced to run from pairs of hyped-up dogs in wired-off enclosures. Some will be mauled, others will be injured when pinned to the ground by the dogs.

If the Government is serious about promoting our image as a sporting nation, I suggest it abandon its proposal to exempt hare coursing and fox hunting from prohibition under the Animal Welfare Act.

John Fitzgerald

Callan

Co Kilkenny