Animal welfare group appeal to farmers to help prevent hare netting

The Irish Council Against Blood Sports has today appealed to landowners to refuse permission to coursing clubs to net hares from their lands for use as live lures before greyhounds at enclosed coursing meetings.

"We make this plea to the farmers, who are the real custodians of Ireland's wildlife heritage, to over-ride the licence granted this week to the Irish Coursing Club by Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, to take thousands of hares from the wild," said a statement.

"The power now rests with the farmers and landowners to refuse permission to coursers with nets entering their lands, and we urge them to use this power in the interests of the conservation of the Irish hare, and its protection from cruelty and abuse.

Farmers are being asked to download and display copies of the group's new "Hare Sanctuary" poster which uses the slogan 'No Coursing, No Netting, No Hunting' from www.banbloodsports.com.