Don’t forget the cost of cruelty to humans

THE Green Party is making a major issue of hare coursing in their second negotiation for a programme for (mis)government.

The Greens claim, with some validity, that hare coursing is cruel to animals.

The Greens are likely to give way on hare coursing because there is too much money involved and too much support for it among rural Fianna Fáil members and backbenchers.

In their first programme for government negotiations the Greens very quickly abandoned their principled opposition to war, particularly the Iraq war and US military use of Shannon Airport. I spent a night with John Gormley at the muddy Shannon Peace Camp in January 2003 as he protested vociferously against US troops and warplanes at Shannon.

Since the Greens have gone into government their silence has been deafening on the Iraq and Afghan wars and on Irish/Shannon airport complicity in deaths and destruction. Perhaps the Greens should give some consideration to cruelty to humans, including Irish victims of this government’s incompetence, and Afghan and Iraqi victims of Irish complicity in wars.

Edward Horgan

Newtown

Castletroy

Limerick