Sligo-based coursing club to be prosecuted

A County Sligo-based coursing club is to be prosecuted for possible breaches of the Wildlife Act. Tubbercurry/Ballymote CC netted hares on Oyster island, off the Sligo coast, for its major hare coursing fixture. It did so without the permission of the island's owner. The island is host to a hare population that coursing fans find convenient as an easily available supply source for the live bait the need to hold their "meetings".

Three years ago, there were terrible scenes when locals witnessed coursing men armed with sticks and home-made batons shouting and beating the ground, advancing across the island in their round-up of the terrified hare population.

The animals on the island have been netted in recent years and used in the cruel bloodsport. Each year the haven of peace is invaded by the "sportspeople", and anyone who voices objection to their activity is told where to go in no uncertain terms.

The Irish Council Against Bloodsports, the Campaign for the Abolition of Cruel Sports, and the Association of Hunt Saboteurs group lodged detailed complaints last year, however, citing the very relevant fact that the coursing club lacked the required permission of the island's owner to proceed with their netting. The licensing conditions attaching to the Wildlife Act under which coursing events are held stipulate that such permission is required.

We must now await the court case and see what happens...

Interestingly, coursing fans who landed on Rathlin island to net hares were chased away by angry locals. Thank God the tide is turning against this so-called "sport".