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SENIOR HEALTH OFFICIALS answered questions last night about the implications of new advice on the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine would have on Ireland’s vaccine strategy and the lifting of Covid restrictions.
NIAC has recommended that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people aged over 60 after reports of rare blood clotting events emerged.
Those rare blood clotting events occur in 4-10 cases in every million AZ vaccine doses administered, in which one person may die.
The HSE has cancelled AstraZeneca vaccine appointments due from today onwards, and is to consider how the announcement will affect the vaccine rollout over the coming days.
Here’s what we know so far.
The risk of blood clots versus the risk of Covid
Outlining the decision to limit the use of the vaccine to over 60s only, NIAC chair Professor Karina Butler said last night that someone aged 60-64 was 85 times more likely to die of Covid-19 than to have any clotting event from the vaccine – that includes all clotting events reported, and not just the rare thrombosis.
People aged 55-59 are 48 times more likely to die of Covid-19 than get a blood clot.
Among the 20-30 age group, the risk of dying from Covid was twice as likely, than to develop any clotting event related to the AstraZeneca vaccine, with the latter as a worst-case scenario.
Butler added that these figures only covered the most extreme possible result of contracting Covid-19, death, and didn’t take into account the “burdens” of Covid: the likelihood of getting hospitalised or being admitted to ICU with Covid, or the long-term effects of Covid-19, also known as long Covid.
The overall risk is taken from the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Covid risk figures are taken from the Irish data on Covid-19.
Dr Niamh O’Connell also pointed out that of Covid-19 patients who are hospitalised, 8% experience clotting, and 27% of those who go into ICU could get a clot – though it was stressed that these were different clots to the rare ones linked to the AZ vaccine.
So can only 60-69-year-old get the AstraZeneca vaccine now?
No. The AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use for the whole population before being limited to only under 70s over concerns about clinical trials not having enough data of the vaccine in over 65s.
However, those reports were subsequently reviewed and AstraZeneca was rolled out to over 70s again.
So, since that announcement, AstraZeneca is approved for “routine use” in people aged 60 and over.
The HSE is to decide whether over 70s will continue to receive the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as the default, or whether there will be a reallocation of vaccines.
Why is the limit of the AstraZeneca jab to over 30s in the UK, but over 60s here in Ireland?
Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn stressed that although they are recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine for use over 60s, they could have put the limit at a lower age.
It was due to an abundance of caution that it wasn’t, he said.
He and Dr Lorraine Nolan of the HPRA pointed out that the AstraZeneca vaccine is still effective at stopping a significant proportion of the population from dying of Covid-19.
The reason the advice is changing, they added, is because they are in the “lucky” position of having other effective Covid-19 vaccines to choose from.
Can I choose what vaccine I get?
No.
There is no picking and choosing what vaccine you want, Professor Butler said.
For the age cohort specifically aged above 60, if you get offered an AstraZeneca vaccine, the advice is to accept that vaccine.
Speaking about how people should take what vaccine they’re offered, Dr Ronan Glynn said:
“If someone aged 65 is thinking of taking this vaccine if its offered to them in the coming weeks, versus waiting for the summer when there’s a surplus of other vaccines, I would highly, strongly recommend that they take what they are being offered now.”
“What’s being offered is a very safe, very effective vaccine for their age cohort. The risks of them catching Covid-19… and ending up dying of that disease are far, far, far higher than any potential risk on receipt of one of these vaccines.”
Professor Karina Butler, Chair of National Immunisation Advisory Committee, says people will not have a choice of #Covid19 vaccines. Acting CMO Dr @ronan_glynn urges people to take the vaccines they are offered | https://t.co/FgLRDCPUYJ pic.twitter.com/ebbTa9THm8
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 12, 2021
Can I still get the AstraZeneca vaccine if I’m under 60?
From today, all AstraZeneca vaccinations are paused, while the HSE comes up with an operational plan based on the new advice.
Professor Karina Butler said that she can’t speak for the programme on whether it would be “practical”, but said that NIAC’s recommendation is that the AstraZeneca vaccine can be given to those aged under 60 if they are made aware of the risks and an individual assessment is made for that person’s situation.
Why the delay between first and second doses for some people who have had the first AZ dose?
Health officials said that people under the age of 60 and with no conditions should be confident that the vaccine is safe and effective.
The reasoning for the delay between first and second doses being extended from 12 weeks to 16, was to reassure people as much as possible that the vaccine is safe.
Over 800,000 people in the UK have received a second AstraZeneca dose without any evidence of adverse events, Professor Butler said.
Germany and France have also begun to give mRNA vaccines as second doses to people who received their first AstraZeneca dose, and NIAC is monitoring how effective that approach will be, “so we will have more certainty” around that.
Are women under 60 more at risk?
Although initial studies suggested that it was mostly women under the age of 60 who experienced adverse blood clotting after receiving the vaccine, NIAC chair Professor Karina Butler said that this could be because it has been primarily given to healthcare workers, who are women aged under 60.
She noted that in the UK, the 79 rare blood clotting incidents of 30 million AstraZeneca doses administered were among men and women more evenly.
I’ve recently had the AstraZeneca vaccine – what should I do?
Dr Niamh O’Connell outlined the symptoms that people should keep a look out for – but added that these mightn’t necessarily be symptoms of a blood clot either:
The symptoms are: a persistent or severe headache, particularly if it is accompanied by a weakness in your leg or blurred vision. Other symptoms to watch out for are shortness of breath or a pain in your chest or tummy, or ‘pin-prick’ bruising.
Dr Ronan Glynn added that these rare blood clotting events tend to appear between four days and up to two weeks after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.
So there is no reason for the vast majority of those who have received AstraZeneca to worry – as they are past this time frame.
For those who are still within that time frame, it’s worth remembering that the incidence of these rare blood clotting events is extremely low: it’s 4-10 cases per 1 million doses administered, one of whom may die.
Have there been cases in Ireland?
The HPRA is still only aware of one suspected case of a rare blood clotting event – but it hasn’t been confirmed as an adverse event as a result of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr Lorraine Nolan confirmed there was still one ‘case of special interest’, but didn’t confirm the details of the person’s condition, due to patient and data privacy reasons.
She did, however, say that as of now, there has been no reported incident of adverse events of low platelets and a clotting event together, which is the rare clotting incident associated with the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr Nolan also pointed out that European regulators were the first to become aware of this blood clotting event, and that when they began distributing the vaccine out to the population, they were “open” to the possibility of rare adverse events.
Dr Nolan said that Ireland’s population is so small that a rare event like this may not be spotted unless they looked at data abroad, as was done in this case with European and global data.
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It is not the people that are granted these license that are causing the decline of the Irish Hare,you might have to take a closer look at at one so called minority group who travel the country side with packs of dogs that are causing the decline of the hares
I don’t believe it’s the what you call minority group that is decimating the specie. It can be anyone’s dog going for a hare when the opportunity arises.
When money is to be made this country never does the right thing. Protect wildlife… not on your nellie.
he is flogging a book…
Actually coursing clubs unwittingly make it easier for poachers to snatch hares…their so-called “preserves” can easily be accessed by poachers who know exactly where to find the animals thanks to what is euphemistically called “coursing club conservation.” All a poacher needs to do is nip down to the nearest coursing club “preserve” and take or kill the hares. Those “preserves” are nothing but death traps for hares.
And coursing clubs capture hares for one reason only: to use them as live bait so that they can be terrorized, mauled, and tossed about for fun. In addition to unwittingly facilitating poachers, the clubs are engaged in a horrific blood sport that many other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland have banned.
It’s time to ban it here too…
Coursing clubs are facilitating the “gurriers” who kill hares via their “preserves”…the “gurriers” know exactly where the hares are because the coursing club preserves are well known to them. Another reason to ban hare coursing, apart from the proven cruelty of the practise.
except *your* dog, of course
It’s hardly a fun day out. Disgusting activity. Ban it.
arah ban you! what’s the hare population? % required for this craic? I’d say 99% of the country doesn’t have this thing going on and I lost count of the amount of hares that jump in front of me at night on county roads when driving
I walk my dogs on the Curragh every morning when I’m finished they do be exhausted not just chasing rabbits but any amount of hares as well.
If the hare and rabbit population is in decline in certain areas there is a million and one of them on the Curragh that can be relocated, guarantee that every time I find a really decent mushroom the damn rabbits have eaten half of it.
btw they never catch any but they love the thrill of the chase, the sheep are not worth chasing.
Ye clearly didn’t read the article or yer just not too bright.
Can you elaborate on that Lad?. just pointing out that the Hare population is thriving on the Curragh, I’ve never seen as many rabbits and Hares and their young.
Just to add to that I’ve never seen as many foxes on the Curragh as I have this year, which usually means they have an abundance of food supply.
Conservationists are inclined to exaggerate to suit their agenda.
Conservationists are inclined to look at the full picture, rather than just look at their local patch and assume everything is grand. They’re also inclined to quantify any increases or decreases rather than just say theres “lots”. They’re also inclined to take precautions to ensure that when it seems there’s an increase or decrease that it is in fact true rather than observer bias.
And even if the Hares on the Curragh are thriving, which they might well be, if they’re declining everywhere else then that indicates there are problems everywhere else. Relocation is pointless if the problems everywhere else havn’t been solved. Essentially you’re saying “who cares if theres habitat destruction etc everywhere else, its ok on the curragh!”.
William your wasting your time defending yourself against these clowns whom always seem to know everything about everything. They don’t have a clue about hare coursing, a lot of these dopes think the hare has to be killed or that the objective is for the hare to get caught. Not true.
The same dopes give out about our government(no matter who it is) water charges, paying taxes etc YET they want everything for nothing. Bunch of useless pr!cks you’d swear they were they only ones affected by the down turn.
Exactly Stephen one or two Hares might actually be caught by the dog, I don’t love or get off on animal cruelty far from it but Hare coursing is hardly animal cruelty when you think of what other cultures do to animals?.
Stephen, your silly name calling post again underlines the desperation of the pro hare coursing lobby. They’ve lost the argument and can now only resort to this kind of vitriol. Instead of debating the issue, they mount personalized attacks on people who oppose their sick form of recreational animal cruelty.
John I posted another comment to you below please scroll down and debate all you want. All you kind of folk are nothing but trouble makers. Get real jobs and contribute to society in a positive manner
Again you demonstrate you have argument. Coursing clubs could contribute to society by disbanding. It is not “trouble making” to oppose deliberate cruelty. Coursing clubs are terrorizing and torturing hares and creating “preserves” that poachers enter any time they feel like it to attack and kill those hares. That is an undeniable fact. Silly name calling and bullying cannot change reality.
@Robert , your request would have to be accompanied by a very fat brown envelope.
No one is bullying, Mr Fitzgerald.
“Coursing clubs terrorising and torturing hares” those comments from you are exactly what I’m talking about. You are away with the fairies. Thank god you guys are few and far between. Very silly people with nothing to do.
Stephen…you say “no one is bullied”…but they are. People who have taken photos and recorded damning footage of coursing events have been ejected from the grounds and in many cases beaten up. “Heavies” are assigned to ensure that the cruelty of hare coursing is not captured on film, unsuccessfully as the truth does get out despite the best efforts of the bullies to suppress it. The actual footage recorded in defiance of the prohibition on “unauthorized photography” proves that those who present the case against hare coursing are not “away with the fairies” as you blithely suggest but have a rock solid argument for a complete ban on the practice. We do not imagine the cruelty. Nor did we create those coursing “preserves” into which poachers venture freely to further decimate the hare population. Coursing clubs must be consigned once and for all to their place…the dustbin of history.
Opponents of hare coursing are not “few and far between”but in fact comprise the overwhelming majority of the Irish people.
Great article.
Totally agree about Skellig Michael.
How animals are treated and the laws to protect them really is our national shame.
Our minister in charge of animal welfare Simon Coveny goes fox hunting says it all really
Minister Coveney, who recently said we should “respect” animals in Ireland, specifically exempted hare coursing from abolition under the Animal Health and Welfare Act. The Act protects a despicably cruel blood sport instead of the protecting the gentle Irish Hare.
What’s your point yuba bill?
I wonder what was in it for him to protect animal cruelty???
How this is allowed to happen in the 21 st century is beyond me. Should be banned outright…some people would say it’s part of country life and to ban it would be like losing part of our heritage. …the answer to this is that people have changed and evolved with the passing of time and now understand that what once was considered sport is no longer acceptable in a modern society…with the exception of a minority of people. Cannot rationalize how anybody can say this barbaric practice is a sport…same as fox hunting, bull fighting, big game hunting etc, just look at that idiot of a dentist that shot and killed Cecil the lion recently..I bet he feels proud of himself now.
What about the bird that sh!t on my car?! He deserves to die, painfully. I’d just washed it!
The sad thing is David your not a troll it’s actually you.
There have always been people who got their kicks from recreational animal cruelty posing as “sport”. Equally there have always been those who disapproved of it.
Hare coursing is a blot on the Irish landscape and does nothing to enhance country life. I’ve elaborated on this theme in my book Bad Hare Days:
@Rory – great post. Shit is already changing around the world due to this culture of murdering for sport. It needs to be banished as soon as possible. And it’s because of that sociopath Dentist people are really taking notice now.
Can I choose a few idiots who are running this country & let them loose in a field/ road & I will run them down. Anyone out here who is interested in this sport. Get this country fit run down the idiots running this country. I don’t mean with a car, just chase them down running. I could get really fit with this new sport. Any takers!!!!!
Shame on you lot who support this …
I’ve never been to a coursing meeting, but the hare isn’t harmed at it, the dogs are muzzled ffs!
Sound, how about we muzzle a cheetah and stick it in a big field, with you for company. Safe, stress free situation for you, right?
Oh so it’s the hare’s mental health you’re worries about now? Are they not chased in the wild? Plank.
david there are differences. when it happens by chance encounter in the wild, that’s nature. when they are captured to be released into a stressful situation for entertainment repeatedly (really, what does happen or does everyone think they actually only run once and get let go?!) then it’s wrong. there is no need for it.
I HAVE been to coursing events and I can confirm that hares are mauled or otherwise injured despite muzzling.
Reports from NPWS rangers who attend coursing fixtures also confirm that this is the case.
And here’s further evidence that hare coursing is far from “harmless”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrFGNrL0rA&list=PLRkXOvbUPNNiGTsXVvyZdECvNZfKcdNzB
David, you’re digging a huge hole for yourself. There’s overwhelming evidence of cruelty in hare coursing and the “conservation” work of coursing clubs is a big lie: Far from being friends of the Irish Hare, they use the animals as live bait in their sick form of entertainment and make life easy for poachers by making hares available via so-called “preserves” from which the poachers can easily snatch the animals.
Apparently , Heather Humphreys doesn’t do shame.
99% of every living thing that has ever existed on earth is extinct.
And your point is….
…survival of the fittest.
…thats not what survival of the fittest is…….and on that note David, don’t reproduce….
Survival of the fittest belongs to the natural order in the wild. Hare coursing is contrived and barbaric.
I’m surprised at the number of overgrown rats endorsing this barbarity!
ever caught a mouse or rat in a trap john
Well what can we do? Is there a petition to be signed? Where is it?? Lots of people reading this would surely sign it
and would all those people support the inevitable cull that would be required afterwards?
ErcFri, here’s a petition:
https://www.change.org/p/petition-to-ban-horrific-hare-coursing-cruelty-in-ireland
Why would an “inevitable cull” be “required” if hare coursing were banned? This question to David O’Sullivan (one of the tiny few on this comment line who approves of hare coursing). According to you, no hares are killed at a coursing meeting, and the coursers claim they are all returned to the wild safe and sound. So, how does coursing perform some kind of management of hares service, so that hares don’t get out of control number-wise. I know that the coursers actually complain about the shortage of hares to course, and a few years ago, an Offaly coursing club rep said to a NPWS ranger that there was a scarcity of hares in the locality. Would you explain that to me please, David? Haven’t come across that suggestion of a cull needed if hare coursing were banned. It’s quite intriguing and puzzling and doesn’t stand up to any kind of logical scrutiny.
Thank you John Fitzgerald, have signed petition gladly. Very pleased to do something positive about this barbaric practice.
The hares are caught well in advance of a coursing meeting. they are then dosed and trained to run the route so they know where safety is. All dogs are muzzled and if they get anywhere near the hare the men standing on the side of the run then run in to distract the dogs and protect the hare. when a hare is released if it looks like a slow runner then the dogs are not released. hares are only allowed to run one course and after the meeting they are released back into the wild. A bit of proper research wouldnt go astray before producing an article!
Be careful, the veggie brigade aren’t open to to facts that don’t suit their agenda… We’d all be eating lettuce if they had their way
then they’d move on to the use of chemicals to grow the lettuce to keep up with demand :)
Oh that’s ok so…the welfare of the hare is top priority and it doesn’t suffer any ill affects at all, I’m sure given the choice the hare would say “yeah this could be a bit of craic count me in” Now Elaine just for arguments sake..say you were forced to walk through the lion’s enclosure at Dublin Zoo for some kind of social experiment. ..to see how lions interact with humans encroaching on their patch…Now the lions would be muzzled and there would be attendants patrolling the fringes at the ready to shoo away the nice little lion if he fancied a piece of you…Would you be scared out of your mind even though you know there is help at hand if needed…This is the way the poor hare feels only a thousand times worse, cause he had no free will in this charade ye call a sport. Does the hound’s paws not do any damage to the hare? Are the men on the sidelines all Usain Bolts that could cover 100 metres in less than 10 seconds to save the hare from any physical damage..I would think Not…Hard to defend the indefensible me thinks.
Ah that’s fine then a great day out for the family! Thanks for enlightening us to the wonders of this cruel Sport.
You’ve obviously never been near a coursing meeting then. do you know what speed a hare can run compared with what a dog can run… the hounds paws do not get near the hare. the objective of coursing is not to catch the hare
no problem, anytime!
Muzzled hare coursing is small fry just as Cecil the lion is. Habitat destruction – something set to surge again as the construction industry picks up in this country – is the major issue in the decline of Irish hares, not a few people coursing them with muzzled hounds. Massive, terrible injustices are done to the animal kingdom every minute of the day around the world – habitat loss, pollution, chemical persecution etc – but the problem is that our increasingly urbanised society only cares if the animal is “cool” and has a cute Disney name. People like Rory are raised on Disney films that instil this mentality and think wildlife is a peaceful and gentle place filled with complex human emotions. It’s not. It is a cruel, unforgiving place, awesome and beautiful for sure, but filled with daily threat for herbivore and carnivore alike.
Correct…just very much against cruelty to animals in any form…if the hounds paws do not get near the hare…why then bother with a muzzle? Have these hounds telescopic necks?…must be some reason for a muzzle?
Wasting your time, Elaine. Internet rule #67: Never let facts dim the volume of an outraged opinion.
the government issues coursing licences on the grounds that certain rules are followed. one of these rules is that muzzles are to be worn by each hound
Hilary..you are correct, wildlife is cruel etc But that is natures way…men with hounds following a hare in a enclosed field is Not natures way…see my point? I know its Sunday and all that but you’ re not comparing like with like… Apology will be accepted.
@Elaine I’ve been to a hare coursing meeting as a child, an uncle brought me. Not something I’ve ever forgotten.
The entire event is based around the premise that the terrified hare will run for its life if chased by a dog intent on killing it, which of course the dog is trained to do.
Do you seriously think either of these animals pauses to think, the dog is muzzled, the hare thinking I’m safe, I’m not going to be killed here, ripped apart with the paws possibly but not by the teeth. The dog thinking well I’m not going to be able to grab the furry bugger, why bother.
Animals are not there to be tortured for our sport and fun, if we really enjoy them and their environment then do something about it. Get your kicks elsewhere.
what is the objective?
Elaine, the writer of the article doesn’t say anything contrary to what you’ve said above. I’m sure he is aware of those rules and practices that are in place to minimise the cruelty of coursing. And obviously, those rules and practices make a big difference in minimising the risk to the hare and making sure it survives and can be released.
But the key word is “minimising” – you can still argue that its a cruel and unnecessary practice. Even if 95% of the historical cruelty associated with coursing has been removed, there’s still that 5%.
That’s good that our government is looking after welfare issues of all our animals.. the hounds paws doesn’t get anywhere near the hare…the picture at the top of this article must have been Photoshop ed then…time our elected members put a stop to this cruelty. ..because that’s what it is.
Hilary, the cruelty of hare coursing is not “small fry”, regardless of the percentage of hares at each event that are mauled or otherwise injured or terrorized. In the same way, dog fighting affects a relatively small percentage of the national dog population, but that doesn’t make it less cruel or acceptable. Being opposed to animal cruelty has nothing to a “Disney” mentality. It predates TV and film by centuries!
Elaine, hares mauled, pinned down by the dogs, or otherwise injured at almost ALL coursing events, as confirmed by reports filed by rangers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) who attend the fixtures and extensive video footage.
The hare is NOT protected in coursing, and hares released after an event may die of stress related ailments such as Capture Myopathy.
Here is the truth about hare coursing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrFGNrL0rA&list=PLRkXOvbUPNNiGTsXVvyZdECvNZfKcdNzB
Elaine, you say “the hounds’ paws do not get near the hare”…Scores of reports from the NPWS rangers who attend coursing fixtures say the exact opposite, and the video footage exposes this assertion as completely unfounded.
The objective of coursing is to test the speed and stamina of two grounds…but hares are subjected to horrific injuries as revealed in the video footage and NPWS reports.
Drag coursing, in which no hares are used, is the norm in most European countries. The dogs still compete, but the gentle hare is spared the horror of live coursing.
I have witnessed many coursing events and I can confirm that your defence of it falls flat…
This is coursing in Ireland…and the hare is most definitely not having a nice time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrFGNrL0rA&list=PLRkXOvbUPNNiGTsXVvyZdECvNZfKcdNzB
That’s a large tub of poo…I’ve witnessed enough of these events and the big rabbit gets it every time.
Would you bring children to a coursing event ?
Can you explain the number of injured and fatally wounded hates in the NPWS reports then?!
Mr Fitzgerald I don’t see coming out to stop the travelling community hunting hares with five to ten whippets/lurchers, you haven’t once mentioned these guys whom are more of a threat to hares than anything else in this country. Are you afraid to confront them or something, the coursing clubs are easy targets for you.
I’ve witnessed travellers hunting hares and called the gardai and ran them off my land. The hares they kill are thrown in a bush after all the dogs have taking a chunk out of it.
If hare numbers are down it is most certainly NOT because of coursing. I’ve seen a travellers phone with a picture in it of fifteen dead hares hunted by his lurchers in one weekend. That my friend is throughly awful
no he does’nt get it everytime. that is blatent lie’s on your part. or you just have no clue what you are on about.
Stephen, you must not have read my other posts. The poachers you mention are able to kill or attack hares precisely because coursing clubs have concentrated those hares on their “preserves”, making it convenient for the poachers who can easily find these well publicized and easily accessible locations. Coursing clubs are therefore hugely facilitating the actions of the people you mention. Both hare coursing AND poaching are despicably cruel and must be banished from the Irish countryside.
John the nonsense you folk print is utter tripe. Answer me this have you ever approached hunters with about ten lurchers giving the hare zero chance (travellers) Your great sitting behind you keypad writing bs. I’d say you’d sh!t your pants if you came across them out the countryside.
But having a pop at the coursing clubs is like I said an easy target. Horse racing is another thing you don’t agree with but I ask you have you ever backed a horse before, a little flutter in the grand national???
The hunters you mention do not approached me, Stephen. They approach the easily accessible coursing club “preserves” where they have a free run and can kill hares to their heart’s content. The poachers would catch and kill far less hares if the coursing clubs were not making it easy for them. You evade this issue because you know it’s the rock that coursing will perish on. Horse racing is beyond the scope of this debate and completely irrelevant to it. You are in denial of the well proven cruelty of hare coursing and will make any daft attempt you can to divert the public from the main issue. I also note your overt anti Traveler remarks. Poachers can be from any walk of life, just as opponents of hare coursing can be, and your comments are in extremely poor taste, if not verging on incitement to hatred.
How can the Minister licence live hare catching when.they are a protected species under the law. Am I missing something?.
big envelopes ???
All this talk of it being barbaric is funny. The dogs are muzzled. Hippies gone mad!
You sir are an idiot
Give me a dog over an overgrown rat any day.
An overgrown rat? I’m aware that the standard of education is in decline, but Jesus……
give me an intelligent empathetic human over a numpty any day.
So you don’t go to hare coursing then as they do not like the dogs being muzzed with all the illegal ones that take place… You can kill animals with fright and a dog running on a hare is not good for their health…
So gay right etc etc but f… animal right then, what a good person you are David…
The quality of your banter and discourse really is something to behold.
When you learn to walk upright without your knuckles scraping the ground, be sure to let me know …
… BTW that’s a reply to David ‘Oscar Wilde’ O’Sullivan …
Wait until the election comes, I will make the news myself… First man to shove a carrot up a T.D’s rear, when they arrive at my door…
Hares are ‘designed’ to run up and down hills : big back legs, small front legs.
Does Hare Coursing take place on hills?
Of course it doesn’t.
If there is anything approaching a ‘hell’, I hope it’s full of people who course hares …
Well done to Eric Dempsey on a great article, highlighting, among other issues, the use of live hares as bait for coursing greyhounds. It is indeed despicable that in this, the year 2015, our Arts & Heritage should licence this cruelty. May I say to the contributors who claim that no hares are injured and killed because the dogs are muzzled, this is not the case and muzzles on dogs doesn’t always save hares from death and injury. Every year we access, under the Freedom of Information Act, reports on coursing meetings from the National Parks & Wildlife Service, outlining hares struck, injured and killed by muzzled greyhounds. For example, at a coursing meeting in Tubbercurry in January 2015, 9 hares were struck by greyhounds, with 1 being euthanised by vet, and four dying; at Dundalk 3 hares were euthanised by vet as a result of their injuries; 3 died in Balgriggan – the list goes on. A ranger discovered a severely injured hare in a box at a coursing meeting – she was drawn to the box by the smell; another ranger noted that there were 2 young hares and 2 heavily pregnant hares at Nenagh coursing field, meaning that pregnant hares and nursing mothers can be caught up in the nets, leaving the young behind in the wild to fend for themselves, such is the indiscriminate nature of netting hares from the wild for coursing, and to think that this is all facilitated by a licence from our Arts & Heritage Minister. And this netting licence contains myriads of conditions, which are simply unenforceable, or the will is not there to enforce them. For example, a ranger was intimidated at a coursing meeting the year before last, which is a breach of the licence condition, but no prosecution was taken, which is generally the case with breaches which invariably occur year after year, although Heather Humphreys proclaimed that breaches of the licence would not be tolerated! It seems the coursers may do as they like and thumb their noses at the National Parks and the Minister.
I saw one Christmas a few years back hare coursing beside me and the dogs were not muzzeled and they didn’t get the permission of the land owner and they were from across the boarder by their tone and reg number…
So are these …. who do this for betting or are they just unbelievably cruel…
God help any pets that day…
David O’ Sullivan (for anyone unfamiliar with the pro hare coursing lobby) is typical of the kind of person who endorses the blood sport. This is the standard of “debate” you get from these charming people.
Loss of habitat (i.e.; grass replaced by concrete) is the biggest factor I have noticed affecting the hare population, closely followed by pets running free.
Hares are still plentiful in isolated areas – they will move when too much human activity impinges.
Nature is dynamic and plants will push through concrete, given time. While we must take better care of our environment, you can’t wrap it up in cotton and keep everything in aspic.
Citing coursing as a threat to the population is nonsense, just because this bird expert doesn’t like it.
Grasses being replaced by one particular grass is arguably a bigger factor than concrete replacing grass i.e. agricultural intensification and previously ‘complex’ landscapes being ‘simplified’.
Yuba Bill, Hare coursing is cruel…the evidence on that score is overwhelming, but it is the coursing club “preserves” that threaten the conservation status of the hare, by facilitating any poacher who wants to capture or kill the animals. The poachers don’t have to scour the countryside in search of hares. They need only call to the nearest coursing clubs “preserves” (their whereabouts are widely known) and have their “sport” with the hares…which differs little from what the coursing clubs would do with them later. The poachers use lurchers to attack hares. Coursing clubs set them up as live bait for hyped-up greyhounds. The Irish Hare needs adequate protection from both coursing clubs AND the poachers. These twin evils must be banished from the Irish countryside.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrFGNrL0rA&list=PLRkXOvbUPNNiGTsXVvyZdECvNZfKcdNzB
The public can see that I am standing over what I believe in and that you, “Yuba Bill” lack the courage to use your real name when you mount cowardly personalized attacks on me. Your anonymity speaks volumes.
Well, John
I see you have a friend in the journal.ie- they removed my comments quoting your own words.
.
Tell me this, then – do you condemn the people – whoever they were – who placed broken glass on coursing fields and sent threatening notes to coursing enthusiasts back in the eighties and do you think they should confine their activities to debate?
The “broken glass” incidents in the 1980s were the result of infighting among rival coursing clubs, as were the threatening letters to coursing clubs. A member of a County Cork based coursing club was convicted of burning haybarns that belonged to other coursing supporters and also admitted sending anonymous letters to coursing people. He pleaded guilty but insane. No member of any animal welfare/rights/conservation group has ever been convicted of these offenses.
I refuse to accept that as a condemnation.
Introducing the Skellig Michael Star Wars incident in an article abour hare coursing was a bit stupid. Choose your point and stick to it.
think the point was this minister’s lack of regard for our natural resource and heritage…..
There are thousands of horses destroyed every year because they don’t make the grade. Should we ban horse racing? These activities are big business and if a government banned them in the morning they’re would be outrage. We live in a world where children die of starvation live on CNN and having watched that outrage we casually turn on an episode of modern family for a giggle. We as a species are the true outrage.
There are many illegal hare coursing carried out illegally… I do not like hares but enough get killed on the road without this nonsense but better keeping the old stock who voted the same all their lives because they enjoy illegal gambling…
So Heather Humphreys, our Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, is in fact a supporter of illegal gambling because she doesn’t want to upset the gits who bet on hare coursing as that means votes???
Lets get the E.U. to say something about this then… As it is them who brought in all the birds of prey here under their directives???
I wonder if her own parents would agree with her ? they could have been nature lovers themselves and gave her the beautiful name Heather, just a thought !
Heather grows in dismal places, what could be more dismal than this government…
You Micheal.
Stephen you can do better than that, have another go lol.
Join the march against cruelty to animals
https://www.facebook.com/events/917407631668468/
I understood that cruelty to animals was illegal, but here we have two “government” people enjoying and condoning it , why are they not being charged and taken to court , why are they not being stripped of their highly bloated undeserved salaries , I’m confused , either animal cruelty is illegal or it is not .
Plenty of hares in n county dublin. See them every time I walk the dog
unlike most of the people commenting on this i have been hare coursing and nobody wants to see the hare caught. 9 times out of 10 he gets away inevitably there are casualtys like all aspects of life and sports. as for the so called ethnic minority that has been mentioned i have yet to see anyone from the animals have feelings brigade protesting at a sulky race or the ispca taking half starved dogs off them . when you adress the real issue of cruelty to animals that are on the roadside then you can talk. but then again coursing clubs,hunts and racecourse stewards don’t carry bill hooks around with them . the hypocrasy is laughable tbh. but it’s not one bit funny.
Coursing fans say they don’t want to see a hare killed at a coursing event. What they want ant to see happen is irrelevant. The whole practice is cruel, from the netting of hares, their unnatural captivity, and then using them as live bait. That’s why so many other jurisdictions have already banned hare coursing and why the Republic of Ireland will follow that example. Re the poaching issue, I’ve already explained how coursing clubs are facilitating that problem by creating so-called “preserves” to which poachers have easy access.
Good post Micheal, hypocrites is the word I was looking for. Your bang on the money
Of course it’s relevent. if everyonw who goes to see coursing is a bloodthirsty philistine, why only use two dogs? because coursing is and always will be a race between two dogs using their fastest natural prey to find out who is fastest. Now i’m not a dog owner or trainer but i used to go coursing years ago as a beater as i enjoyed the walking involved. As regards the poachers involved ,it makes me a bit angry that the clubs are blamed for facilitating them as you say. they will hunt them regardless of where they are. My issue is how come all aspects of animal cruelty and animal care laws dont really apply to them. it seems easier to go after the organisations..
With drag coursing you can all the fun and games WITHOUT hares being terrorized, mauled and tossed about like broken toys. Unfortunately a hard core within coursing wants to retain the use of live lure because that’s what they enjoy most…watching animal being hounded and injured for fun. It might make you angry Stephen but coursing clubs ARE definitely facilitating poachers by creating those preserves. A bit like piling up all of a town’s valuables in a side street and then wondering why the burglars have such an easy time stealing them. Hares will hare better when coursing clubs are taken out of the equation.
I’m not anti travelers in the slightest. I am however anti moral highground rubbish. I used them to highlight how animal cruelty happens every day on the side of our roads and all around us and nobody bats an eye even though there are laws against how these animals are kept. But if you want to paint me as anti traveller thats fine to suit your case work away ,i was merely pointing out the hypocracy of the cause
why not takel the poachers
sorry tackle
I agree with you in a way about drag coursing. But coursing is over 3,000 years old and they had no drags back then. Right or wrong tradition is hard to change. and dogs have hunted hares long before we started banging stones together to keep ourselves warm
Mr Fitzgerald the coursing club have not created a preserved area for hunters/travellers to hunt. That is the greatest nonsense I’ve ever heard. Fabricating stories now are we, really you will have to do better. I’m on about travellers walking the land, any land with cover in search of a hare. That’s nothing to do with a coursing club or members.
I’m not angry about anything john I’m just setting the story straight with you and the nonsense you’ve made up
You distort my words Stephen…The coursing clubs create “preserves” to ensure a plentiful supply of live bait for their fixtures. That is an accepted fact. The poachers then avail of these “preserves”, whose locations are well known, and attack or kill the hares in them for their own “sport”, which is not all that different from what the coursing clubs do to them. You have not “set the story straight” as you claim but have merely attempted to fudge the issue. The evidence of cruelty in coursing is proven beyond doubt, and the evidence of poachers having easy and virtually unrestricted access to coursing club preserves is likewise beyond dispute.
When are out ministers going to condemn China for eating pets?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3207893/Charity-saves-cat-trying-escape-Chinese-butcher-slaughterhouse-eaten-controversial-Yulin-festival.html
@Micheal , I’m afraid you are dealing with a part of the world which has not yet become sufficiently civilized to be part of the human race , we can feel saddened by their savagery but thats all we can do . Yulin cave people will continue to be like this for another thousand years before they catch up.
It is not right and the last time cats were slaughtered was during the Black death, what stupid people they were then as well…
…………
just 4 in 100 hares that are coursed die. The rest escape.
far better odds than a cow, sheep or pig entering an abbatoir.
OneTrueVoice…Hare coursing, like dog fighting or badger baiting, is no less cruel regardless of how many hares are involved…
You see no ones listening to you and your lies
The lies, Stephen, are coming from the defenders of hare coursing. They have to lie about it because truth hurts them at a deep level when they consider it honestly. Our case is backed by the contents of NPWS reports and by video footage. Coursing doesn’t have leg to stand on…the clock is ticking for this form of animal cruelty.
I never read such a load of SH2t in my lifetime.
have your say