Irish coursing club has gardai visit.

tipperary | animal rights | news report

Thursday September 10, 2009 20:24

by Bernie Wright - Association of Hunt Saboteurs

berniew at esatclear dot ie

PO box 4734. D1.

ICC members discuss delay in lisence and alledged money queries.

An allegation that the offices of the Sporting Press in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, which describes itself as the “official organ of the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), has been raided within the past few days by the Garda Fraud Squad has been leaked by Coursing supporters. This allegation is contained on an Internet chat forum called the “Greyhound Knowledge Forum”.

In the course of an exchange of views and comments by forum members, mainly in relation to Minister John Gormley’s upcoming decision on whether to grant a hare-netting license to the ICC, a person calling himself “Vinny Grennan” refers specifically to the presence of the Fraud Squad in the Sporting Press offices in Clonmel.

ban hare coursing

Another forum member, “Den Morrin” acknowledges that an investigation is underway, as does a “Michael Eustace”.

If these allegations are indeed true, and the ICC is being investigated for fraud, then we would emphasise again our appeal to Environment Minister Gormley not to grant a license this year to the ICC allowing another coursing season to proceed.

The Green Party justly prides itself on its upholding of ethical standards in politics and public life, and we suggest that to engage in “business as usual” with the ICC right now if these allegations are true (apart altogether from the animal cruelty factor) would be an absolute scandal and a denial of everything the Greens stand for as a political force in Ireland.

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Comments (3 of 3)

A compelling reason for not allowing another coursing season

by John Fitzgerald

Fri Sep 11, 2009 02:13

In relation to the Irish Coursing Club’s application to the Department of the Environment for a license to net hares for another hare coursing season, we have asked the Department bear the following points in mind:

1) The Irish Hare is designated as an endangered species in Ireland (see Red Data Book) and this fact remains a compelling argument against the Government granting the hare-netting license regardless of what those wheedling pro-hare coursing mandarins within the government's advisary service "advise" to the contrary. Hare stock numbers may be marginally up or down from year to year or from month to month, but the very clear overall trend is downwards. And the trend towards local extinction of the species continues.

For that reason, we suggest, the Department of the Environment should overrule the “business as usual” snivelling approach of those un-elected and unaccountable “advisers” within the Department who wish the Minister to go down the “traditional” well-travelled Fianna Fail corrupt route of simply granting the license because it is the easy option and a sop to the FF branches and coursing clubs around the country.

2) Northern Ireland, which has a similar hare density to that of the Republic, has suspended all hunting and coursing of hares due to its poor conservation status.

3) The organisation to which the Department of the Environment is requested to grant the license, the Irish Coursing Club, is currently being investigated by the Garda Fraud Squad for serious alleged criminal offences. We have been hearing reports in recent days about a Garda investigation into the ICC’s affairs but have now received confirmation that the ICC is indeed at the centre of a major Garda crime probe.

We believe that it is entirely inappropriate that the Government should be seen to be granting a license to the ICC while this criminal investigation is ongoing, apart altogether from the conservation and animal welfare issues involved in the granting of the license, and the fact that Green party has an established track record of upholding the highest ethical standards in politics, and public life generally.

We have therefore urged the Oireachtas to ensure the decisive rejection of the ICC’s application for a license to net hares for another season of Fianna Fail backed deliberate cruelty to animals, for the reasons stated above.

Thanking you for your kind attention,

Sincerely,

John Fitzgerald
(Campaign for the Abolition
of Cruel Sports)

Help the Hares - Urge Minister to refuse coursing licence

by ICABS - Irish Council Against Blood Sports

Fri Sep 11, 2009 14:50

Please support our urgent action alert to Environment Minister John Gormley to refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club. Telephone / email / fax the Minister now:

Minister John Gormley
Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Custom House, Dublin 1.
Tel: 01 888 2403. Fax: 01 878 8640.
Email: minister@environ.ie

help the hares

Caption: Video Id: 645KI4pbb3k Type: Youtube Video
Urge Green Party leader to stop licensing cruelty

Demand an end to coursing licences

Fri Sep 11, 2009 15:08

Please urge Minister John Gormley to refuse a licence to the Irish Coursing Club.
Email Minister Gormley now at minister@environ.ie or phone 00353 (0)1 888 2403

Caption: Video Id: D58qbzC-GI4 Type: Youtube Video
Ban coursing in Ireland

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Irish coursing club has gardai visit.

Comments (3 of 3)