#livecoursing

That’s the phrase printed on what is possibly my personal favourite placard. It’s the placard we held at this years protest outside Clonmel Racecourse during the Coursing meet. Last year we stood in the same spot, in horrific weather, the wind blowing under every hood, the rain soaking every gloved hand, chilled to the bone. But what is more chilling is the shrill, child-like shriek of a terrified Hare. This year, we got some sunnier weather, but the scene in front of us, unlike the weather, had not improved much.

Once again, dozens of cars piled into the Clonmel Racecourse carpark and watched Irish Hares run terrified from a pair of Greyhounds, all under the guise of “tradition” and “sport”. Once again, peaceful protestors stood outside the gates, bearing witness. Unlike last year, the Garda seemed legitimately neutral, and spent most of their time on traffic control, monitoring both the protestors and the coursing attendants, keeping some of the more rowdy in line. That’s not to say there wasn’t some trouble, on both sides. Pro-coursers threw insults, middle finger salutes and some dangerous driving tactics to try and scare those opposed them. Some of the Anti-Bloodsport protestors moved from the main body to stand on their own, much to the displeasure of some of the Gardai. Nothing illegal on either side, but certainly distasteful.

Many will shame me for speaking ill of people “on my side”, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think it’s important to call out the extremists on both sides. Protest should be Peaceful. It’s a vigil to the innocent animals suffering at the hands of humans. Causing trouble and stirring the pot does no good for the cause, and puts a bad taste in peoples mouths. If you want to make real changes, you have be the better person. You cannot condemn the abusers if you yourself turn around and abuse others, verbally or physically.

There was a few noticeable differences from last years protest, apart from the weather. There was noticeably more people on the Anti-Coursing side, especially those local to the area as a whole. Oftentimes, when protesting against a large event in the community, locals will be very vocally against it online, but feel unease about attending a protest in person. Why? It’s fairly simple when you think about it- You don’t sh*t where you eat. For many, this event is a once a year protest, one of many they choose to attend. For locals, once the day is over, they still have to live, work and socialise in the area. You don’t want to cause major strife with the people you have to get on with for the rest of the area. That being said, there was a big increase in local support this year.

There was also a big increase in foreign support for the coursers. The number of Northern Irish and UK Registration plates was noticeably higher than previous years. Since Hare Coursing has been banned in Northern Ireland and the UK, coursing enthusiasts are travelling down in droves to one of the last recesses for this barbaric “sport”. Iconic isn’t it, that the country that introduced the bloodsport to Ireland via colonialism, has banned the act, yet the former colony continues to claim that the sport is part of our culture.

For those unfamiliar, Hare Coursing is the pursuit of a Live Hare by a pair of Greyhounds to see who can cause the Hare to Turn from it's course first. Pitting an animal with superior agility against two with superior speed and strength. The animals involved have no concept of sport, the Hare does not understand that this chase is a game, nor do the hounds. For them, it's instinct, to run and to chase. It's only a sport for the humans watching, who derive some sort of pleasure from watching a small animal run scared from a pair of predators.

The Hares suffer immense stress and fear throughout the Coursing Season. The initial round up involves flushing the wild hares from their home into waiting nets only to be manhandled into boxes and transported across the country where they will be kept in unnaturally large social groups for a predominantly solitary animal. Pro-coursers claim that they care for the hare by providing vaccines and health checks, releasing any pregnant, old or injured animals and providing feed and shelter for them during the cooler months. But that's like arguing that just because SeaWorld feeds and provides Vet Care for their Orcas that it's justifiable to steal them from the wild and imprison them in tiny tanks. The Animals shouldn't be in that position in the first place. And not unlike the Ocras at SeaWorld, the Hares are then expected to entertain the masses by participating in the sport they've been captured for. Well, it's only a sport when both sides know they are playing, and for the prey animal Hare, the course is a life of death run from predator Greyhounds. The animal is terrified, fleeing from their pursuers. Pro-Coursers once again claim it's ok as the Greyhounds are muzzled now when they course, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a 4kg animal versus two 40kg+ animals at speed. The human equivalent would be a pedestrian against a bus. Hares are routinely hit, tumbled, turned, rolled, flipped, crushed, pinned and mauled by the Greyhounds, who will use their muzzle and claws as battering ram on their quarry. Those hares that are injured often have to wait to be treated or euthanised, with one coursing vet on record saying he will see to the hares AFTER his own Greyhound had coursed.

I would say that this classifies as the "unnecessary suffering" supposedly banned in the Animal Welfare Act, but wait! Don't you know Hare Coursing has a specific exception from those laws? Almost as if they know that what they are doing, the action of it, does not have the Hares Welfare at Heart. Pro-coursers claim that the Hare evolved to run from predators, that it's natural for them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't stressed and terrified when they are being hunted. Nature is brutal, foxes and hawks kill Hares daily, but they kill for food, matched up in an evolutionary niche. No animal should be purposely terrified in the name of sport.

The tide is turning on Hare Coursing, the support for this outdated “sport” is dwindling and public opposition is rising. It seems almost every few days there’s a debate or speech mentioning the plight of the poor irish hare. We can only hope that we as a people can finally come together to change the law around this sport, remove the exception of hare coursing from the animal welfare act and leave our wildlife in peace! Until such a day though, we will continue to speak up.