Irish Coursing Club

20,000 EURO REWARD ...for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the injury and suffering of the hare released on video by Association of Hunt Saboteurs, alleging to be at Powerstown Park, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary on February 2010.

The hare in this video, which was released on the youtube website eight weeks following the National Meeting, is clearly restrained with a wire or thin cord, and appears to be convulsing. Closer inspection will show the hare is trying to escape from being restrained, and is possibly partly sedated or poisoned. Claims are made this video was taken during the third day of the National Coursing Meeting, February 3, 2010, but due to the constant presence of paddock stewards/other personnel, and other related details, this is extremely unlikely. A break-in to the hare park prior to the National Meeting was previously reported to the Gardai. The Gardai at Clonmel are currently investigating this act of cruelty. The Irish Coursing Club unreservedly condemns the maltreatment of this hare. We strongly urge anyone with relevant information to come forward on whoever perpetrated this act of cruelty to discredit coursing. Please contact the Clonmel Detective Branch Office *052 6122222* or the Garda Confidential number *1800 666111*

PRESS RELEASE 31 March 2010

On Tuesday, 30 March 2010, a disturbingly engineered video purporting to have recorded a “dying hare” at the National Coursing Meeting, February 3, 2010 was released to the Youtube website by the Association of Hunt Saboteurs Ireland. It was also distributed to all TDs as “evidence of the brutality” of hare coursing. The video begins with coursing footage from the National Meeting and ends with its subject matter, the “dying hare”.
The ICC completely and unreservedly condemns and rejects the claims of the video and most strongly denies the authenticity of the subject matter itself.
A second inspection of the video by ICC officials and members as well as IT and veterinary experts exposes it as a deliberately orchestrated effort to discredit the hare welfare policies and practices of the ICC.
Beside it being patently impossible for the “dying hare” portion to have taken place during the National Meeting, in several frames it most disturbingly reveals the hare is restrained by a wire around its neck (and possibly one limb), the wire then extending to the right of the hare, intermittently being pulled. It is also worth noting that the camera often pans to the left but never to the right, the direction from which the wire is coming from. This observation is supported by the fact that the hare’s head never moves from its original position in spite of convulsing and desperate attempts to free itself. The hare is highly likely to have been poisoned or partially sedated for effect.
The location and number of paddock stewards, staff, and 24 hour security personnel during the National Meeting make it virtually impossible for the “dying hare” portion of the video to have taken place at the claimed time, and there are numerous inconsistencies with the video. Differences in the quality of the video between the coursing footage and the “dying hare” footage are obvious, and the PA system background sound from the coursing portion is completely absent from the “dying hare” sequence. In addition, any further claims that this did take place during the National Meeting and the hare was not intentionally restrained are met with the hard fact that it was more important for the person with the camera to “get the shot” than try to relieve the hare’s suffering and seek the help of the on-site veterinarian or paddock stewards.
A break-in to the hare compound was discovered on a day previous to the National Meeting, and was reported to and is on record with the Gardai. The location of the damage to the fencing from the break-in is in immediate proximity to the angle of the camera and the direction from which the wire around the hares neck is being pulled.
Further claims of greyhounds breaking into the hare compound during the National Meeting are completely without basis, and these and other details point to people who will go to any lengths to achieve their aims and have no reservations whatsoever of sacrificing one hare to do so. It is a desperate and deplorable agenda. This is a shocking and disgraceful attempt to discredit the dedicated organising committee of the National Meeting and the ICC from a group of people who allege to oppose animal cruelty. Minister Gormley is notified of our findings, given he was provided this footage to investigate the matter. It is well documented how animal rights activists have “sacrificed” animals in the furtherance of their cause. It is worth noting that the alleged authors of this video are claimed to be Polish and therefore difficult to trace or interview; it is unusual at best that it took two months to “launch” their production on the unsuspecting public. The timing of the controlled release of this video was clearly designed to generate impact at an opportunistic time. These are the actions of treacherous people who will stop at nothing to achieve their agenda and must be exposed to the greater public, our elected representatives and the decent people of Ireland.
Legal counsel is being sought, and the video and all other supporting information will be left with the Gardai today, who have already been so notified of this serious matter of inflicted animal cruelty and trespass. Additional confidential evidence and detail will be provided to the Gardai to assist with their investigation. The targeted TDs and other government officials will also be so informed, and we encourage anyone with additional evidence or observations to contact the ICC immediately.

DJ Histon
CEO
Coursing Club

2009/10 Season
President: Brian Divilly
Treasurer: John Egan

Executive Committee:
Chairman: Noel Holland Vice Chairman: Tom Mulcahy
Members: Berkie Browne, Jerry Burke, Brian Divilly, Liam Drennan, John Egan, Brendan Farrelly, Paddy Holohan, Fran Mangan, Lexie Marmion, Tony McNamee, Phil Meaney, Tom Murphy, Brendan Purcell, Richie Quinn, Brian Walsh, Joe White.

Provincial Committee Chairmen:
Connacht: Lexie Marmion
Leinster: Tony McNamee
Munster: Jack O’Rourke
Ulster : Charlie McDaid

‘The Executive Committee at its meeting on August 4th made the following appointments to the respective committees. The Executive Committee selected to streamline the membership on each committee in recognition of the current economic climate’.

Finance and Management Committee
Chairman: Brian Divilly
N Holland, F Mangan, T Murphy, J Egan (Treasurer), DJ Histon (Secretary)

General Purposes Committee (Chairman to be appointed)
B Browne, L Drennan, L Marmion, T Mulcahy, B Purcell, B Walsh, DJ Histon (Secretary)

Northern Sub-Committee (Two members to be co-opted)
B Walsh, J White, DJ Histon (Secretary)

Irish Cup Committee
B Farrelly, T Mulcahy, R Quinn

AI Administration Committee
As General Purposes Sub Committee (except Secretary)
Chairman appointed by Executive Committee

AI Appeals Committee
Picked by President and Chairman Executive Committee
Limited to five members.

Irish hares are eighteen times more abundant in areas managed by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) than at similar sites in the wider countryside a recent study by Queens University Belfast has shown.
There are approximately 89 local coursing clubs distributed throughout Ireland and each is associated with a number of discrete localities, known colloquially as hare preserves. These are managed favourably for hares including predator control, prohibition of other forms of hunting such as shooting and poaching and the maintenance and enhancement of suitable hare habitat.
Anti-field sports organisations, in addition to animal welfare objections, dispute the efficacy of ICC hare population management practices claiming that annual harvesting of hares causes local population declines and expiration.
The research team, lead by Dr. Neil Reid, Quercus Centre Manager at Queens, indirectly tested the efficacy of management practices by comparing hare numbers within preserves to that in the wider countryside.
Dr Reid said: While we cannot rule out the role of habitat, our results suggest that hare numbers are maintained at high levels in ICC preserves either because clubs select areas of high hare density and subsequently have a negligible effect on numbers, or that active population management positively increases hare abundance.
The research, published in the peer-reviewed international journal Acta Theriologica, suggests that field sports such as shooting, hunting and hare coursing promote the multifunctional use of farmland in which wildlife provides a resource for non-agricultural activities supporting sustainable development. Also, field sports may offer financial and recreational incentives to farmers and private landowners who are frequently willing to accept conservation costs over a wider area than Government can afford to subsidize.
Co-author Professor Ian Montgomery, Head of the School of Biological Sciences at Queens said: The Irish Hare is one of the highest priority species for conservation action in Ireland and without concessions for its role in conservation, any change in the legal status of hare coursing under animal welfare grounds, may necessitate an increase in Government subsidies for conservation on private land together with a strengthened capacity for legislative enforcement.
This latest research follows on from a previous study published by the same group in the journal Animal Welfare during 2007, which showed that survival of hares at coursing events significantly improved with the introduction of compulsory muzzling of greyhounds in 1993, while improved levels of captive animal husbandry reduced mortality yet further. It is estimated that about four per cent of the 6,000 or so hares netted by the ICC each year are killed with the rest being released back into the wild.
Further information on the study is available on the Quercus website at www.quercus.ac.uk.

IT is the duty of the Control Steward and Slip Steward to ensure the appropriate coursing muzzle is fitted correctly prior to each course. It is not intended to cause offence to owners while undertaking this duty.
Owners/Trainers are advised to ensure the correct size muzzle (Bitch muzzle or Male muzzle) is fitted sufficiently tight to prevent a muzzle becoming dislodged on impact with the ground or other object.
The condition of the muzzle and in particular the webbing should be noted.
The implementation of this procedure is to protect the welfare of the greyhound and most importantly the hare.
Thank you for your co-operation.

D.J. Histon,
Secretary I.C.C.

Bitch and litter inspections, both track and coursing, will take place on a continuous basis going forward. This practice is in keeping with maintaining the integrity of the Stud Book and to assist in verifying breeding data for all industry stakeholders. The format will entail inspection of bitches prior/post whelping and will be conducted by dedicated inspection staff.
The success of this activity is dependent on full co-operation by all.

Signed: Keeper of the Stud Book, D.J. Histon

In recent years, a neurological condition of greyhounds has been observed at University College Dublin (UCD).
This condition occurs in young dogs aged between four and 18 months, of both sexes, and often affects multiple animals in the same litter. The clinical signs vary in severity and type, but include any combination of dullness, weight loss, head tilt, unsteady gait, circling, blindness, aggression and vocalisation. The condition is invariably fatal despite treatment, and can be confirmed only by post-mortem examination.
Although the occurrence of this disorder in multiple animals of the same litter is suggestive of an underlying infectious cause, exhaustive research to date has failed to implicate the standard agents likely to be responsible. University College Dublin has examined cases over a number of years, indicating that the disorder continues to exist within the Irish greyhound industry.
UCD has recently obtained funding to undertake further investigations and would appreciate your help in identifying new cases. If you observe any of the above clinical signs, or have any greyhounds in which you suspect a brain problem, we would be grateful if you could contact us, in confidence, at the numbers or emails listed below. Individual cases can be discussed, and if warranted, clinical assessment and initial screening tests performed free of charge.

Robert Shiel:
Telephone 01 7166000; or email robert.shiel@ucd.ie

Sean Callanan:
Telephone 01 7166152; or email sean.callanan@ucd.ie