Sick dogs, poorer attendance, convicted animal abusers and not much media coverage…Coursing a dying practise.

tipperary | animal rights | press release Monday February 12, 2018 17:05 by Bernie Wright - Association of Hunt saboteurs bigbrownrat at gmail dot com PO Box 4734. D 1. 0872651720

Hares snatched from the wild to amuse the cloth cap brigade.

Press Release. Re National Coursing Final 2018

Our group co-organised the large demonstration against Live Hare Coursing at the Powerstown Park Coursing Disgrace.

A quieter than usual and less well attended event. RTE did not even give much coverage, thankfully it’s a dying pastime which for us is the equivalent to child abuse.

Our biggest question was- why was a convicted man on charges of blooding gentle hares [to train his dogs} allowed participate?
He was Ger Mc Kenna’s son Owen Mc Kenna who was filmed at a Tipperary track some years ago. Journalist Donal McIntyre secretly filmed McKenna and others clearly blooding the dogs, for a BBC documentary on the greyhound industry. A court case ensued and Judge Michael Patwell sentenced Owen McKenna and a number of other defendants to prison terms.

Please see link (below) to footage of the blooding session (part of the documentary entitled “On the Line”) in which you will see Mr. McKenna calmly inflict pain and suffering on the captive rabbits.
The ICC should now be asked to explain its position…how can it possibly stand over McKenna’s involvement in the National Coursing Meeting if, as it claims, it does not blooding.

animal abuse is not sport

• Here is the footage of the animal abuse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q33yiORJfXs
• The day finished early for the punters with less courses due to dogs entered being pulled from the “National Coursing Meeting” due to outbreak of a highly contagious infection in kennels in four different counties.

• The animals have were found vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea. A vet confirmed it was an infection that could spread profusely. Scours {This is a test to check for parasites such as worms or Giardia. If a bacterial infection is suspected, a fecal culture and sensitivity are performed. In cases of certain viral diseases, such as parvovirus, other tests on the feces may aid in the diagnosis. ...).Some comments have appeared on internet greyhound chat forums like “Greyhound Nuts” but greyhound industry PR people are desperate to keep the whole thing quiet, lest panic spread on the eve of the big “showpiece” hare baiting session. An emergency meeting in the Minella Hotel was called where greyhound owners discussed the infection on Friday night.

• Clubs are on the alert as One man was arrested about 7 weeks ago attempting to steal 9 hares out of Blarney coursing field.

So a declining Industry still abusing our wildlife with Government Approval continues to hang on by its nails.

Bernie Wright
Press Officer AOHS
Phone 0872651720