Protest mounted against betting company Boylesports’ financial sponsorship of live hare coursing

international | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis

Thursday July 05, 2012 23:11

by End hare coursing sponsorship

Members of several animal protection groups and anti blood sports organisations protested outside the Boylesports outlet at Westmoreland Street in Dublin on Thursday, July 5th. Among the protesters was Independent Dail Deputy Maureen O' Sulivan, who with Deputy Clare Daly plans to move a Private Members Bill to tackle hare coursing.

The demo focused on this bookmaker’s sponsorship of the horrific cruelty of this blood sport. Each year it pours huge amounts of money into the so-called “sport”, which involves the terrorising and savage mauling of captive wild hares in a wire-enclosed field or park.

Protesters outside Boylesports office at Westmoreland Street, Dublin

The demo focused on this bookmaker’s sponsorship of the horrific cruelty of live hare coursing. Each year it pours huge amounts of money into the so-called “sport”, which involves the terrorising and savage mauling of captive wild hares in a wire-enclosed field or park.

Over the years, campaign groups have persuaded many smaller sponsors to withdraw their support from hare coursing, but now we are concentrating on the top ones.

Boylesports and the multi-millionaire “philanthropist” gambler JP McManus are the two leading sponsors. Without the massive funding these two allocate to the blood sport, we believe that hare coursing could not continue in Ireland. Together with “cute hoor” vote conscious politicians who kowtow to the coursing clubs, sponsors are keeping this dark ages savagery alive in the 21st century.

Boylesports is the largest independent bookmaker in Ireland, with over 160 retail branches around the country.

We are asking them to immediately drop their financing of this appalling practise, which is opposed by the vast majority of the Irish people according to opinion polls and is a criminal offence in Britain and Northern Ireland, and throughout most of mainland Europe.

We note that the Wikipaedia entry on Boylesports mentions all the sporting-related activities covered by the bookmaker except hare coursing. We have noticed too that on its own website it refers only to “coursing”, without explaining that it is LIVE hare coursing it sponsors, as distinct from drag coursing, as practised in many countries, in which no live hares are used. We would question the reason for this apparent fudging of the issue.

Animal protection groups outside Ireland will be organising an internet orientated boycott of Boylesports in the belief that most people who place bets are not in favour of deliberate cruelty to animals dressed up as “sport”. An international campaign is evolving that will, we believe, help to cut off the financial lifeline to hare coursing in Ireland.

Evidence of cruelty in live hare coursing:

Footage of the “Irish Cup” hare coursing event, sponsored every year by JP McManus held on Limerick racecourse in the last weekend of February 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL741E0B6DA3CBB057

Junior Agriculture Minister Shane McEntee defends hare coursing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbvbSbFLok