It’s absurd to blame coursing for extinction of hares on Bull Island

I find it extraordinary that CACS (Campaign for Abolition of Cruel Sports) are “aghast” (Irish Examiner, Letters, April 8 ) that there have been no reported sightings of the Irish hare on Bull Island since June, 2014. 

The reason cited by the unnamed ‘ecologist’ is disturbance by humans and dogs. From this, the blame is laid at the door of coursing clubs, the nearest of which is 20 miles away. This is absurd.

I refer to the opinion of two experts in lagomorph conservation and the clear link between the conservation of the Irish hare and coursing: Queens university zoologist, Dr Neil Reid, and his colleague, Professor Ian Montgomery, head of biological sciences.

This is the opposite of what your letter writer pronounces.

Dr Reid states: “Irish hares appear to thrive far better in areas run by the Irish Coursing Club than in similar countryside elsewhere. ICC sites are managed favourably for hares and they (ICC Clubs) maintain enhancement of suitable habitat.”

Following a five-year study, he observed 18 times more hares where coursing clubs were present. Professor Montgomery says “without legal and well-organised, well-regulated coursing, much of the cost of conservation will fall mainly to the government”.

If the concern is Irish hare conservation, it would be better to insist that the Irish Coursing Club manage areas under threat from hare loss.

D.J. Histon

CEO/Secretary

Irish Coursing Club

Davis Rd

Clonmel

Co Tipperary