Coursing clubs should send dogs after something that doesn’t take fright

THE Irish Coursing Club (ICC) has offered a reward of €20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever caused a particular hare to be ill-treated in an incident caught on film by two Swedish students who attended the national coursing meeting in Clonmel last February.

While commending any initiative that advances the cause of animal welfare, I cannot help reflecting that such proactive concern and compassion for the plight of Irish hares used in coursing on the part of the pro-bloodsports lobby has not been more evident in the past.

To the best of my knowledge, no coursing club has ever previously offered a reward in relation to any one of the many thousands of hares that have been terrorised, injured or killed at coursing events over the decades.