Spate of hare hunting returns

The ending of pandemic restrictions comes to little comfort to residents of Ballymackey as the scourge of rampant hare hunting with lurcher dogs has returned to the area following a lull over the past two seasons.

Sources living in and around the Nenagh area say residents are literally afraid to leave their homes due to groups of people hunting hares with lurchers. Despite meetings held with local farmers, IFA representatives and local gardaí the situation has gotten worse in recent times, one source told this newspaper.

He said the gardaí have been called to Ballymackey five times in the past week alone in response to illegal trespass by these people. However, the powers of the gardaí are limited, he claimed, as they are unlikely to catch the perpetrators illegally hunting.

One local farmer who asked a group of these people to get off his land returned the next day to find thousands of euros of damage done to his property, our source claimed.

He said farmers regularly report stock driven through fencing, gates left wide open and wires being cut on their property.

It is understood that these hunters have travelled to the area from Cahir, Cashel, Clonmel, Tipperary Town and Limerick and even Cork City.

The hare hunting practised by these people with lurchers has dramatically increased in recent years.

Nenagh Coursing Club, who practise legal coursing under strict Department of Wildfire regulations and monitoring by wildlife rangers, says it is extremely frustrated and worried by this situation.

A member of the club commented: “We are contacted several times every week by farmers and residents reporting this hunting, much of which is done in our local preserves. “This problem can only be solved by a multi-agency approach. We ask the local Wildlife Department to work with the guards and dog wardens to stamp out this disgusting practice.

“There is plenty of evidence on social media to work on and to bring a successful prosecution.”

The club member said local stocks of hares have been devastated. “We estimate that these people are killing more than ten hares a week in our area alone and they will not stop until they have killed every hare in the area.”

The problem of groups of men coming from areas outside the locality to hunt on lands has caused great concern to farmers who fear their properties are being staked out for subsequent burglaries and thefts.

Over the past year or so local gardaí have issued prosecutions to some groups who have subsequently ended up before Nenagh District Court and who had been handed down fines for not having licenses.