A protest involving a “variety of animal-protection groups” will take place this Sunday (February 6) at the National Hare Coursing Festival, in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
The festival, which commenced today (Friday, February 4) returns for the first time since 2020 due to a Covid-19-forced hiatus, and this year it is a four-day affair – rather than the usual three.
Its return will provide a welcome boost to the local south Tipperary economy as it is estimated to be worth between €12 million and €15 million, attracting thousands of people from all around Ireland and further afield.
But, in a statement from Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports (CACS), its PRO, John Fitzgerald said:
“In an era where concern for our biodiversity is, supposedly, at the top of the political and environmental agendas it is mind-boggling that this practice continues.
“Later this year, deputy Paul Murphy will move a Private Members Bill proposing a ban on hare coursing.
“We hope this will win cross-party support and we especially call on the Green Party to back the bill, in line with its official party policy of opposition blood sports, even if this means defying a government whip,” he said.
He said a decision by the Green Party to vote against the coursing ban would “sound the death knell for the party” and would be “on a par with them saying that climate change is okay”.
“For the sake of the Irish hare, a treasure of our wildlife heritage, and for the sake of our country’s image, we hope that our legislators will finally stand up to the coursing lobby and end this national scandal,” he said.
Hare coursing – ‘part of our heritage’
But Fianna Fáil TD and chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Jackie Cahill said that coursing is part of our heritage and culture.
This event, which he will be attending on Monday, is especially important for the local economy in Tipperary, he said.
“This is a very regulated sport and staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service will be present for the four days.
“It is a free country and protestors are entitled to protest but coursing is a part of our heritage and culture, and I would be a strong supporter of it.”
Local businesses – hotels and guest houses – benefit greatly from the festival, he said.
Deputy Cahill spoke of the efforts of local coursing clubs to ensure that they abide by all the rules and regulations that are now in place, “unlike how it was 20 years ago”.
And he said there are other aspects of the environment, including illegal hunting and the impact of pine martens, that are more deserving of focus.
The protest will commence at 12:00p.m and ends at 3:00p.m, on February 6 at the Powerstown Park Racecourse in Clonmel.