ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS SEEK ANSWERS AND A FULL APOLOGY FROM THE IRISH COURSING CLUB.

national | animal rights | press release Sunday May 02, 2010 17:15 by Bernie Wright - Association of Hunt Saboteurs (AOHS) berniew at esat dot ie PO Box 4734, Dublin 1, Ireland 0872651720

PRESS RELEASE.

We, the Association of Hunt Saboteurs (AOHS) are calling on the Irish Coursing Club to retract their claims that our group was in any way responsible for the manipulation or staged set- up of the ‘dying hare’ video contents.
We now request a retraction and immediate apology to our group regarding their accusations in a press release dated 31-3-2010. See link below.
Their accusations were carried in the Irish Times articles on 2nd, 3rd and 9th April 2010.

Association of Hunt Saboteurs Ireland (AOHS)

We ask the ICC to answer the following questions:
• Where is the proof that the video incident was set up.[as they claimed]?
• Has anyone come forward to claim the 20,000 euro?
• Why was an animal left to die at the ICC showpiece event?

We also stress that the focus should be on the ICC instead of on animal activists or film-makers .The event happened on THEIR LAND in THEIR ENCLOSURE at THEIR EVENT.

The AOHS requested a full Gardai Investigation when the video was handed in to Gardai Headquarters by us on 6thApril 2010. Preceding that date two Garda stations, Finglas and Clonmel said that no investigation was in progress.

The Department of the Environment was also supplied with the film and asked to investigate a breach of Coursing licence conditions.

Why was an animal left to die at the ICC showpiece event?

The hare recorded in the released video endured horrific suffering for the sake of somebody’s fun and entertainment. Along with thousands of other hares who are taken from their habitat in the wild, hares are stressed, mauled and killed as they are chased down by large speeding dogs at every coursing meet. Their brittle bodies are battered by plastic muzzles as the dogs try to catch them.

We now await the ICC‘s reply and apology.

Bernie Wright.
Press Officer AOHS.
0872651720

Soundbites;
• “Blooding” is where animals such as rabbits and cats are fed alive to greyhounds. It’s believed that this makes the greyhounds more competitive as the greyhounds get a taste for blood.

• The Irish Coursing Club has admitted that someone inflicted “injury and suffering” on the unfortunate hare who was forced into their so called “sport”. The ICC hoped to blame others for the actions of hare coursing but this should be seen as an admittance of guilt, albeit one made unwittingly. This is the responsibility of the ICC and hopefully they will at the very least be punished with the full ability of the law.
• All hares used as bait at Coursing events are or should be tagged. If so this hare should be accounted for?

We attach to this Press Release a more comprehensive footage of the National Hare Coursing Finals in Clonmel on the 3rd of Feb 2010.
www.vimeo.com/11314627

ICC Press Release:
www.irishcoursingclub.ie/

More Information:
www.huntsabsireland.org/

Website with video from the Swedish students who took the video:
http://www.ofhs.ltkalmar.se/t/Page.aspx?id=2656&epslang...ge=SV

Original Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTi2k6nfJSo

Caption: Video Id: 11314627 Type: Vimeo
Dying Hare at Hare Coursing Final - 2010