Wicklow Cllr: Cruel coursing continues “because of support by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”

Wicklow County Councillor Mary Kavanagh has joined calls for a ban on hare coursing, condemning it as “cruel and barbaric” and declaring that “it has to be stopped”.

In a Facebook post today, the Independent councillor asked: “What kind of people get a kick out of defenceless animals running for their lives against two dogs 4 times their size?“

She noted that despite 77% of people wanting coursing banned, “it continues because of the support by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.” 

“It’s time these parties were dragged into the 21st Century where this kind of thing becomes a thing of the past,” she stated. “It’s time for them to do the right thing and implement the wishes of the majority of the nation’s citizens.” 

Referring to Paul Murphy TD’s newly introduced Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020, she added: “It’ll be interesting to see where the Green Party stands when it comes to voting on this bill now that they’re sharing the same platform with the other two parties that support this barbaric practice. Time to do the right thing and hare coursing now!”

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Contact Minister Darragh O’Brien and demand a withdrawal of the 2020-21 coursing licence. 

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie,aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie,duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie,gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie,Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie,brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Health Minister urged to stop this evening’s greyhound racing in Dublin

The Minister for Health is being urged to act to prevent a greyhound racing meeting from going ahead in Dublin this evening (Saturday, 19 September).

In an appeal to Minister Stephen Donnelly, it was pointed out that the holding of the Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby at Shelbourne Park will apparently be in breach of the newly declared Level 3 of the “Living with COVID-19” plan for County Dublin.

The Minister was told that greyhound racing at Shelbourne Park will breach the “Sports” section of the Level 3 COVID-19 plan which states: “No matches or events to take place. Exemption: professional/elite/inter-county/club championship/horse-racing can take place behind closed doors”. Greyhound racing is not included in the exemptions.

It will also breach the domestic travel restrictions which state: “Do not come to County Dublin except for education, work and other essential purposes.” Greyhound racing does not qualify as education, work or in any way essential.

We understand that none of the greyhound owners/trainers linked to the derby final are based in Dublin and that the dogs being brought to Shelbourne Park are all from outside the County.

“This event must not be allowed to proceed and we call on you to take immediate steps to stop it in the interests of public safety and adhering to the Level 3 COVID-19 plan,” we stated in our appeal to Minister Donnelly.

He is being urged NOT to grant any exemption for greyhound racing and was reminded of numerous and repeated breaches of the government’s COVID-19 guidelines at tracks around the country, including at Shelbourne Park.

Video footage brought to his attention last month showed multiple breaches of social distancing guidelines at greyhound tracks. The 15th August footage included shocking scenes from Shelbourne Park stadium showing groups of up to 7 people rushing in together to retrieve greyhounds after races. The social distancing breaches were filmed just hours AFTER the Department of Health publicly announced another 200 cases of coronavirus infections and following false claims by the Irish Greyhound Board that “social distancing [would] be fully observed at all times” – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J89_k0Pwk3U

ACTION ALERT

Urge Minister Donnelly to act to stop the Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby at Shelbourne Park this evening.

Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly
Tel: (01) 201 7300 or (01) 618 3041
Email: ministersoffice@health.gov.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie; hselive@hse.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnellyforWicklow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DonnellyStephen

Find out more about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how you can protect yourself and your family https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/

We need to take the side of the hare

We need to take the side of the hare
Letter to the Editor, Irish Examiner, 18 September 2020

As a campaigner for wildlife protection I’m delighted to see that Paul Murphy TD has officially launched his Bill to Ban Hare Coursing, the third such attempt to outlaw the cruel practice.

The late Tony Gregory TD moved the first anti-hare coursing Bill in 1993. It was heavily defeated, mainly because the big parties refused to allow a free vote. In 2016, Maureen O’ Sullivan TD moved a similar Bill, which again was defeated by a largely whipped vote.

However this latest challenge to the blood sport coincides with a severe threat to the very survival of the Irish Hare.

In recent months there have been confirmed outbreaks in the Irish countryside of the deadly RHD2 disease, which is fatal to hares and rabbits and is highly contagious. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has confirmed that the disease can be spread via the use of nets by coursing clubs to capture hares for their fixtures, held throughout the country; with the practice of handling hares, transporting them around in vans and car boots, and herding them into compounds prior to coursing posing an additional risk of contamination.

RHD2 has the potential to wipe out our native hare, a sub-species of the Mountain Hare unique to Ireland that is hailed as the very symbol of Irish biodiversity.

Even pro-coursing TDs should reflect on the possible implications of allowing the nationwide capture of hares while RHD2 is rampant in our countryside.

Surely they wouldn’t sacrifice the jewel in the crown of our wildlife heritage just to appease a few gamblers?

John Fitzgerald,
Callan, Co Kilkenny

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Contact Minister Darragh O’Brien and demand a withdrawal of the 2020-21 coursing licence.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRkXOvbUPNNjMc6LShwiiXBfnDAPbykf-

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie,aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie,duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie,gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie,Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie,brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Paul Murphy TD introduces bill to ban cruel hare coursing

A big thank you to Paul Murphy TD (RISE/Solidarity, Dublin South West) for today introducing to Dáil Éireann his Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020 which aims to finally ban cruel hare coursing in Ireland.

Introducing the bill – which is co-signed by TDs Gino Kenny, Mick Barry, Richard Boyd Barrett, Brid Smith, Joan Collins and Catherine Connolly – Deputy Murphy condemned coursing as “a cruel, barbaric and outdated practice”.

“It has been banned across Britain and Northern Ireland and across all of the EU, apart from three countries, including Ireland,” he stated.

Read a transcript of Deputy Paul Murphy’s speech below and please scroll down for our latest action alert.

Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020: First Stage
16 September 2020

Paul Murphy TD: “I’m very proud to introduce the Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020. It’s a bill to ban hare coursing. Hare coursing means capturing over 5,000 hares from the wild every year. It means holding them in captivity in close confinement despite the fact that they are solitary animals. It means training them and then it means them being coursed. In other words, having them run for their lives as two dogs ten times their size chase the hares to see which dog can turn the hare first. It means profits for a small few, like the gambling industry, which has sponsored events in recent years while hares are terrorised for a supposed sport.

The dogs being muzzled means the number of deaths has been reduced but over the last four seasons, 75 hares have still been killed. Many more have been seriously injured. Almost 600 hares were pinned to the ground in recent years. People should watch the videos online from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports which show hares being tossed into the air and thrown around by greyhounds.

This is the third time such a bill has been introduced – the first time by Tony Gregory TD in 1993 and secondly by Maureen O’Sullivan TD in 2015. I am following in their footsteps and also in the footsteps of the many impressive campaigners who have fought for this ban. I want to thank the National Animal Rights Association, the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Not For Your Entertainment as well as many individual campaigners including Pauline McLynn for their support of this bill.”

I also want to thank the office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisor for their very thorough and quick work in preparing what is a comprehensive bill. I also want to thank the co-signers of the bill – my Solidarity and People Before Profit colleagues Gino Kenny, Mick Barry, Richard Boyd Barrett, Brid Smith as well as Joan Collins and Catherine Connolly.

This is a cruel, barbaric and outdated practice. It has been banned across Britain and Northern Ireland and across all of the EU, apart from three countries, including Ireland.

Sometimes in defence of it, it is suggested that it is part of rural culture. That’s not the case. The origins of hare coursing is as a diversion of the British aristocracy – part of the gentry’s fondness for cruel and unusual entertainment to give them a thrill of power and brutality. The vast majority of people in rural Ireland have absolutely nothing to do with hare coursing. A RED C opinion poll in September 2019 found that 77% of people support a ban on hare coursing, including a majority of both urban and dwellers.

We’re not introducing this bill as a symbolic bill to make a point and then be forgotten about. We are serious about getting this bill passed. And the way we intend to do it is the same methods that the ban on wild animals in circuses and the ban on fur farming were won in the last couple of years. Solidarity TDs introduced bills to ban these cruel practices and campaigners outside the Dail, including those supporting this bill, built pressure on the political parties and as a result the government moved to ban.

When Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill was voted on in 2016, it received 20 votes in favour against 114. Even at that time, a majority of people in Irish society opposed hare coursing. And yet the political parties were wildly out of touch. As well as Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and Labour voted against it, with Progressive Independents, Solidarity, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats and the Greens voting in favour. We know that many Sinn Fein activists were deeply uncomfortable with their vote against Maureen O’Sullivan’s bill. Two of their TDs – Dessie Ellis and Jonathan O’Brien were reprimanded by the party because they refused to turn up to vote against. We are appealing to Sinn Fein to change their policy as quickly as possible.

We also appeal to the Labour Party – which voted against last time around – to change its position, to support animal welfare and to support a ban on hare coursing.

One of the biggest questions that will be posed in terms of the vote on this bill at second stage – which hopefully will be in the next number of months – is about how the Green Party will vote. During the first ever debate on hare coursing in this house, [Green Party TD] Trevor Sargeant famously played a tape of a hare crying and wailing in the Dail to demonstrate the reality of what hare coursing means. The Green Party has a clear policy position of opposition to hare coursing but we know that [deputy leader] Catherine Martin told a leadership hustings that if Fine Gael and Fianna Fail vote against the bill, she would vote against it ‘with the heaviest of hearts’, she said. Bluntly, I don’t think that the hares or the animal rights campaigners will care about how heavy your heart is if you vote to continue this cruel practice.

Finally I’d like to encourage people to get involved in the campaign, to contact the campaigning groups and also to to contact their TDs and ask them to support this ban. Ceann Comhairle, it’s time to ban this cruel practice.

URGENT ACTION ALERT

HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Darragh O’Brien TD – the Minister who is likely to be making the imminent decision on the licensing of hare coursing. Appeal to him to REFUSE a 2020-21 coursing licence and pave the way for a permanent ban on coursing.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Urge Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) to act to ensure that no licence is issued for coursing.

Eamon Ryan
Leader, Green Party
Tel: 01 618 3894
Email: eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EamonRyanGP/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EamonRyan

Malcolm Noonan TD
Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 6183148
Email: malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm

Catherine Martin TD
Green Party Deputy Leader and Minister for Culture and Heritage
Tel: (01) 618 3018
Email: catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Catherinemartingreen/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cathmartingreen

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRkXOvbUPNNjMc6LShwiiXBfnDAPbykf-

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie,aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie,duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie,gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie,Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie,brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Senator David Norris joining calls on Minister to refuse coursing licence

Senator David Norris is the latest politician to join calls for a refusal of a 2020-21 licence for cruel hare coursing.

Responding to correspondence from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, Senator Norris said this week that he is writing to Minister Darragh O’Brien to appeal to him to refuse the licence.

Senator Norris has previously condemned hare coursing as “a particularly damnable and degrading pursuit” and “an obscenity which is indefensible”.

He is the latest member of the Seanad to call for the 2020-21 coursing licence to be refused.

Fianna Fáil Senators Erin McGreehan and Mary Fitzpatrick have also contacted Minister O’Brien.

Senator McGreehan, Fianna Fáil’s Seanad spokesperson on children, disability, equality and integration told ICABS that she “wrote to the Minister stating that I believe that there is no place for hare coursing in a modern Ireland.”

Senator Fitzpatrick had earlier “made representations to the Minister urging him not to grant the licence.”

Labour Party Senator Ivana Bacik is also supporting calls for a refusal of the licence.

“I do strongly agree with your stance against hare coursing,” stated Senator Bacik who is the Labour Party’s leader in Seanad Eireann.

In our message to Senators, we highlighted the cruelty of hare coursing, the threat posed to the Irish Hare by RHD2 (a deadly virus which can be spread by coursers) and the overwhelming support among the public for a ban on the activity. Last September a RED C opinion poll found that 77% of citizens are in favour of a ban on coursing, while just 9% want it to continue.

Hares suffer and die in coursing – last season, the victims included hares who died with a spinal injury and a broken back and another with “an apparent leg injury”. All the hares used in coursing suffer the fear and stress of being netted from the wild, transported in boxes and held in captivity for weeks/months before being forced to run for their lives from muzzled dogs. Those released back to the wild are at risk of later dying from stress-related capture myopathy.

The continuation of coursing shames Ireland. All our neighbouring jurisdictions (Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales) have all long since banned the bloodsport – as have most other civilised nations around the world.

URGENT ACTION ALERT

HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Darragh O’Brien TD and appeal to him to REFUSE a 2020-21 coursing licence and pave the way for a permanent ban on coursing.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Urge Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) to act to ensure that no licence is issued for coursing.

Malcolm Noonan TD
Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 6183148
Email: malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm

Catherine Martin TD
Culture and Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 618 3018
Email: catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Catherinemartingreen/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cathmartingreen

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRkXOvbUPNNjMc6LShwiiXBfnDAPbykf-

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie,aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie,duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie,gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie,Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie,brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

Paul Murphy TD asks Minister to fully suspend coursing licences

Dublin South West RISE TD, Paul Murphy has asked the Culture and Heritage Minister to fully suspend coursing licences.

In a September 8th Dail Question, Deputy Murphy asked Minister Catherine Martin (Green Party) about “her plans for the issuing of hare coursing licences and her further plans to fully suspend the issuing of same”.

Responding, Minister Martin stated: “An application has been received from the Irish Coursing Club, on behalf of their affiliated clubs, for licences under the Wildlife Acts to net and tag hares for the 2020/21 hare coursing season. A decision will be made on the application in due course by the appropriate Minister following the transfer of functions.”

ACTION ALERT

HELP THE HARES: Please urgently contact Darragh O’Brien TD – the Minister who is likely to be making the imminent decision on the licensing of hare coursing. Appeal to him to REFUSE a 2020-21 coursing licence and pave the way for a permanent ban on coursing.

Minister Darragh O’Brien (Fianna Fail, Dublin Fingal)
Tel: (01) 618 3802 OR (086) 251 9893
Email: darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DarraghOBrienTD
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD

Urge Green Party Ministers Malcolm Noonan (who has responsibility for the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Catherine Martin (who has responsibility for wildlife) to act to ensure that no licence is issued for coursing.

Malcolm Noonan TD
Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 6183148
Email: malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/votemalcolmnoonan1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/noonan_malcolm

Catherine Martin TD
Culture and Heritage Minister
Tel: (01) 618 3018
Email: catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Catherinemartingreen/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cathmartingreen

Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRkXOvbUPNNjMc6LShwiiXBfnDAPbykf-

With a RED C opinion poll confirming that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want hare coursing banned (with just 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban), it is now time for politicians to consign this nasty bloodsport to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar to respect the wishes of the majority and ban hare coursing and all bloodsports.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour Party TDs and urge them to back a ban on cruel hare coursing.

Fianna Fail TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Green Party TDs

Eamon.Ryan@greenparty.ie; catherine.martin@oireachtas.ie; patrick.costello@oireachtas.ie; francisnoel.duffy@oireachtas.ie; neasa.hourigan@oireachtas.ie; brian.leddin@oireachtas.ie; steven.matthews@oireachtas.ie; malcolm.noonan@oireachtas.ie; joe.obrien@oireachtas.ie; marc.ocathasaigh@oireachtas.ie; roderic.ogorman@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@greenparty.ie

Sinn Fein TDs

john.brady@oireachtas.ie; pat.buckley@oireachtas.ie; Sean.Crowe@oireachtas.ie; david.cullinane@oireachtas.ie; Pearse.Doherty@oireachtas.ie; dessie.ellis@oir.ie; kathleen.funchion@oireachtas.ie; martinkennysf@gmail.com; MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie; denise.mitchell@oireachtas.ie; imelda.munster@oireachtas.ie; eoin.obroin@oireachtas.ie; donnchadh.olaoghaire@oireachtas.ie; aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie; louiseoreillysf@gmail.com; maurice.quinlivan@oireachtas.ie; Brian.Stanley@oireachtas.ie; mark.ward@oireachtas.ie; chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie; martin.browne@oireachtas.ie; matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie; sorca.clarke@oireachtas.ie; roseconwaywalsh@eircom.net; reada.cronin@oireachtas.ie; pa.daly@oireachtas.ie; paul.donnelly@oireachtas.ie; mairead.farrell@oireachtas.ie; thomas.gould@oireachtas.ie; johnny.guirke@oireachtas.ie; claire.kerrane@oireachtas.ie; padraig.maclochlainn@oir.ie; johnny.mythen@oireachtas.ie; ruairi.omurchu@oireachtas.ie; darren.orourke@oireachtas.ie; patriciaryan975@gmail.com; pauline.tully@oireachtas.ie; vwynne@gmail.com

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie,aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie,duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie,gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie,Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie,brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share the petitions

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

REVEALED: €87,179 in fees and expenses paid out last year to IGB board members

€87,179 in fees and expenses was paid out last year to board members of the Irish Greyhound Board, it has been revealed.

Responding to a September 8th Dáil question from Michael Healy-Rae TD (Kerry, Independent), the new Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue outlined that IGB board members received €55,238 in fees in 2019 as well as €31,941 in expenses.

Breakdown of fees and expenses for 2019:

Board Members – Fees, Expenses*

Frank Nyhan Chairman – €12,600, €7,741
Billy O’Dwyer (term completed 26 March 2019) – €2,025, €4,937
Mattie Murphy (term completed 7 June 2019) – €3,530, €6,345
Pat Creed – €8,100, €3,298
Colm Gaynor (term completed 26 November 2019) – €11,550, €5,028
Wayne McCarthy Appointed 26 March 2019 – €6,199, €2,620
Gary Brown (26th March 19 – 6 February 2020) – €6,199, €702
Aileen Lennon Appointed 20 May 2019 – €5,035, €1,270
Brian McNeice Appointed 21 November 2019 – €0, €0
Total €55,238, €31,941

• Board Members fees and expenses may include periods other than 2019.

With shocking revelations of cruelty and killing, there are growing calls on the government to stop funding greyhound racing. The Irish Greyhound Board has received more than a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers’ money since 2001, including €16.8 million for 2020.

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael (who back the grants every year) to stop the funding.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Contact all Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party TDs and urge them to vote against any further funding for cruel greyhound racing.

Fianna Fáil TDs

john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie; niamh.smyth@oireachtas.ie; brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie; aindrias.moynihan@oireachtas.ie; michael.moynihan.td@oireachtas.ie; micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie; Charlie.McConalogue@oireachtas.ie; sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie; jim.ocallaghan@oireachtas.ie; darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie; jack@jackchambers.ie; anne.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie; eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie; james.lawless@oireachtas.ie; sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie; sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie; barry.cowen@oireachtas.ie; willie.odea@oireachtas.ie; niall.collins@oireachtas.ie; Robert.Troy@oireachtas.ie; dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie; thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie; marc.macsharry@oireachtas.ie; jackie.cahill@oireachtas.ie; mary.butler@oireachtas.ie; james.browne@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.murnaneoconnor@oireachtas.ie; cathal.crowe@oireachtas.ie; james.oconnor@oireachtas.ie; padraig.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie; paul.mcauliffe@oireachtas.ie; john.lahart@oireachtas.ie; cormac@cormacdevlin.ie; normafoley1@eircom.net; joe.flaherty@oireachtas.ie; Stephen.Donnelly@oireachtas.ie

Fine Gael TDs

JohnPaul.Phelan@oireachtas.ie; Heather.Humphreys@oireachtas.ie; joe.carey@oireachtas.ie; david.stanton@oir.ie; colm.burke@oireachtas.ie; michael.creed@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Coveney@oireachtas.ie; joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie; richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; Eoghan.Murphy@oireachtas.ie; Paschal.Donohoe@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Farrell@oireachtas.ie; emer.higgins@oireachtas.ie; neale.richmond@oireachtas.ie; josepha.madigan@oireachtas.ie; colm.brophy@oireachtas.ie; leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie; Ciaran.Cannon@oireachtas.ie; hildegarde.naughton@oireachtas.ie; Brendan.Griffin@oireachtas.ie; bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie; Martin.Heydon@oireachtas.ie; charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie; kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie; Patrick.O’Donovan@oireachtas.ie; peter.burke@oireachtas.ie; fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie; alan.dillon@oireachtas.ie; michael.ring@oireachtas.ie; helen.mcentee@oireachtas.ie; damien.english@oireachtas.ie; frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie; paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie; Simon.Harris@oireachtas.ie

Labour Party TDs

sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie; aodhan.oriordain@oireachtas.ie; duncan.smith@oireachtas.ie; gerald.nash@oireachtas.ie; Alan.Kelly@oireachtas.ie; brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie

Please sign and share our petition

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Watch the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary which revealed that around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough. It includes shocking scenes of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away.

Protests continuing outside greyhound tracks where dogs suffer and die

Thank you and well done to all who are continuing to organise and attend protests outside greyhound tracks where dogs suffer and die. Among the recent “Ban Greyhound Racing” protests were ones outside Shelbourne Park stadium (organised by Alliance for Animal Rights), Enniscorthy track (organised by OPAGE) and Dundalk track (organised by Greyhound Awareness Louth).

At tracks around Ireland in the past six years, at least 1,959 greyhounds suffered injuries and 652 were killed. These do not include the greyhounds injured at tracks and later killed elsewhere.

Among the victims at tracks were greyhounds who collapsed after races and died of heart attacks, a greyhound who was carried away bleeding with a leg bone “popped out” and greyhounds who suffered broken necks and “severed spine”.

These deaths are just the tip of the iceberg – thousands more greyhounds are mercilessly killed annually because they don’t make the grade.

As revealed in the award-winning “RTE Investigates: Greyhounds running for their lives” documentary, around 6,000 greyhounds are killed every year simply because they are not fast enough. It included shocking scenes of dogs being delivered to a knackery where they were shot in the head and dumped in a skip. One shot dog was seen writhing on the ground in agony as his merciless owner drove away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYTb2qBjlMM

ACTION ALERT

STOP THE STATE FUNDING FOR GREYHOUND RACING

Another €16.8 million of scarce public funds was approved for greyhound racing for 2020. Since 2001, greyhound racing has received more than a quarter of a billion euros of taxpayers’ money. Please contact your local TDs and demand that they vote against this funding. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/33

Urge the leaders of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael (who back the grants every year) to stop the funding.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: +353 (0)1–618 4350 or +353 (0)21-432 0088
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar
Telephone: +353 (0)1-704 3630 OR +353 (0)1-640 3133
Email: leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
Tweet to: http://www.twitter.com/@LeoVaradkar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeoVaradkar

Please sign and share petitions

Irish Government: Stop Giving Millions of Euro to Cruel Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euro-to-cruel-greyhound-racing

Stop supporting the cruel greyhound industry
https://www.change.org/p/stop-supporting-the-cruel-greyhound-industry

Ban Blood Sports in Ireland Now
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing

GAA: Stop club fundraisers at greyhound tracks
https://www.change.org/p/gaa-stop-club-fundraisers-at-greyhound-tracks

Tell Gain Pet Nutrition to Stop Sponsoring Greyhound Racing
https://www.change.org/p/jimtracy-glanbia-ie-tell-gain-pet-nutrition-to-stop-sponsoring-greyhound-racing

Opel sign removed from Clonmel greyhound track

A sign advertising an Opel car dealer has been removed from Clonmel greyhound track after ICABS highlighted the suffering and deaths of dogs.

The sign which included the Opel logo had been on prominent display at the track.

Other similar advertisement signs for Ford, Hyundai and Mercedes were all previously removed from the Clonmel track where, in the past six years alone, 83 greyhounds suffered injuries and 26 were killed.

Among the victims was a 1-year-old greyhound who suffered a heart attack and died during a race. The greyhound collapsed at the finishing line and fell head-first to the ground https://youtu.be/EAX_ZeVgvIA?t=35s

A big Thank You to Opel Ireland for acting to have the sign taken down. It becomes the latest in a growing list of companies which have disassociated from greyhound racing, including Toyota Ireland, Heineken Ireland/Murphy’s, Dublin Bus, Air France, Eir Sport, Tesco Ireland, Electric Ireland, Applegreen, Voucher Cloud, Barry’s Tea, FBD Insurance, Botanica International, Hyde Irish Whiskey, Galway Crystal, Permanent TSB, Maldron Hotels, Clayton Hotels, North Star Hotel Dublin, Metropole Hotel Cork, Treacy’s Hotel Waterford, etc.

Find out more about Opel and its range of cars and commercial vehicles at https://www.opel.ie/

“A cruel practice”: Former fur farming CEO condemns industry as barbaric, anachronistic and indefensible

A former CEO of the British Fur Trade Association has this week condemned fur farming as “a cruel practice” and described the fur industry as anachronistic, barbaric, unnecessary and indefensible.

“In 2020, there is no justification for fur. Full stop,” Mike Moser stated in an interview with Sky News. “That an animal is caged for its entire life is wrong.”

He said that during his ten years working in the industry, he visited fur farms across the globe and saw animals in cages “stressed and suffering”, adding that “there is no doubt from the footage that we have seen over the years that there are many animals in great distress on many fur farms”.

He is now calling on the British Government, which banned fur farming in 2000, to also ban the sale of fur products.

On fur farming in other counties, he commented: “I think it’s inevitable that the fur farms in Europe will continue to close. I think there will be increasing pressure from a responsible society and from politicians to say ‘enough is enough’.”

Watch the full Sky News report at
https://news.sky.com/story/i-saw-animals-in-cages-stressed-and-suffering-former-fur-trade-boss-calls-for-uk-sales-ban-12066698

Here in Ireland, three fur farms remain where thousands of mink are permanently caged before, at six months of age, they are pulled from the cages and cruelly gassed to death.

The Irish Government has pledged to ban fur farming and, according to former Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary, the Department of Agriculture “is in the process of preparing a Bill to provide for the phased introduction of a ban on fur farming which will include a prohibition on mink farming”. No details are available on the duration of the phase-out period.

ACTION ALERT

Please join us in urging the new Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue TD to immediately close the fur farms. Tell him that you want fur farms shut down NOW (instead of being phased out). Remind him that a RED C opinion poll confirmed that an 80 per cent majority of citizens “agree that farming and killing of animals for their fur in Ireland should be banned”.

Minister Charlie McConalogue TD
Tel: (01) 618 3199 OR (074) 917 7282
Email: charlie.mcconalogue@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CharlieMcConalogue
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@McConalogue

Contact Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Fianna Fail and urge them to immediately shut down fur farms.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Phone: 021-432 0088
Leinster House: 01–618 3000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Sign and share the petition
Ban fur farming in Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/ban-fur-farming-in-ireland