Low turnout for anti-coursing protest

THE anticipated mass protest by animal rights activists failed to materialise at the National Coursing meeting yesterday, with about 30 campaigners picketing outside the Clonmel venue during the climax of the annual hare-coursing gala.

While finals day at the annual meeting got under way inside the Powerstown Park racecourse at 11.30am and finished at 3.15pm, the protesters arrived outside about noon and were gone by 2pm.

Despite the low turnout — one group claimed they would have 70 members picketing — and the presence inside the track of more than 11,000 coursing fans, they insisted they got their message across.

“Public support doesn’t tend to be reflected in pickets,” said John Fitzgerald of the Campaign to Abolish Cruel Sports. “People have problems getting time off work to attend pickets.”

He said anti-coursing campaigners were “hoping” Green Party leader and Environment Minister John Gormley would be able to “go some way towards implementing the Green Party’s commitment to ban blood sports in government”.

Acknowledging the presence of a large crowd of coursing fans in Clonmel, Mr Fitzgerald said he “would like to think” drag coursing, which is practised in Australia and uses an artificial lure instead of a real hare, “would be just as successful”.

Association of Hunt Saboteurs spokeswoman, Bernie Wright, said “big money” was being invested in coursing and by coursing supporters.

“That’s what the problem is. It’s always hard to fight big money, but I think we’ll get there. I think public perception is changing,” she said.

Ms Wright denied the muzzling of the hounds at enclosed coursing meetings, which was introduced in 1993, had taken the cruelty out of the sport. “The hares are getting hit by the greyhounds, suffering internal injuries and trauma, and the confinement in the nets is also cruel.”

She said she also took issue with “children being brought in to see animal abuse” by parents attending the coursing meetings.

Irish coursing club chief executive, Jerry Desmond, said there was “no reason” why anybody should be worried or concerned about coursing. “It’s a highly regulated sport. Independent scientific studies have shown the support has no detrimental effect on the hare population.”

Mr Desmond said the hare is endowed with strength, speed, agility, and stamina to escape from predators in the wild. “It’s used to being hunted every day and every night. It lives in a constant stage of apprehension. To say that there’s trauma involved is a misnomer.”

He said the muzzling of greyhounds had virtually eliminated the killing of hares from coursing. “I wouldn’t be involved in it if it was cruel,” he said.

It is estimated the Clonmel meeting brings an annual €16 million boost to the local economy.