Hypocrisy over fur farming ban

Dear Editor, Politicians of all parties and independents have been lining up to sing their praises of the government Bill to end fur farming in Ireland, which is proceeding through the Oireachtas and will soon become law.

While welcoming their opposition to the farming of mink and other wild animals, my stomach turns at the whiff of hypocrisy emanating from both Houses of the Oireachtas since this debate began.

Several TDs made the point that society was changing and that activities involving the use of animals once deemed acceptable are now being rejected as society evolves. Yet some of those politicians are the ones who avidly support hare coursing. If they are genuinely shocked at the caging of wild mink for fur farming, how can they stand over the snatching of wild hares from their habitats by coursing clubs?

The hares are held in captivity for up to seven weeks prior to being set upon by pairs of dogs in a wired enclosure. The unfortunate creatures can be mauled, have their brittle bones smashed, or be tossed about like broken toys

as the fans mark their betting cards.

Yes, attitudes towards the use, or misuse, of animals are changing in Ireland, as everywhere in the world. But it’s time our politicians realised that hare coursing, as one of the most abhorrent blood sports on the planet, is among the practises that have long since passed their sellby date. The latest Red C pill showed that 77% of Irish people want it banned.

Blithely calling for the protection of mink while allowing our iconic Irish Hare to be so wilfully ill-treated for ‘sport’ is two-faced and dishonest, but typical of how public representatives operate in our murky political landscape.

Thanking you, John Fitzgerald Lower Coyne Street, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.