Here’s hoping minister will reject requests to use hares as bait

Arts Minister Heather Humphreys rightly condemned the shooting of a peregrine falcon in Wexford, stating that it was “intolerable” for wildlife to be persecuted and that it “harmed our reputation as a country that values its wildlife”.

However, as the minister responsible for wildlife, she is presently considering the annual application from the hare coursers for a licence to net in the region of 5,500 hares (“protected” under the Wildlife Act) for use as live bait before greyhounds at 80 or so coursing meetings around the country.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports has accessed reports on hare coursing meetings for the 2013/14 season of cruelty, and they make for depressing reading ... with hares being mauled, injured and killed as they run for their lives in fear and terror.