Hare hunters in Tipperary spark fear

Further incidents of hare hunting by groups of men with lurcher dogs on farms in North Tipperary took place over last weekend.

The latest incidents occurred in the Ballingarry area of Lower Ormond.

The news follows revelations in this newspaper last week of what one local farmer claims is “an epidemic” of illegal hunting on local lands.

Robert Kenny, a drystock farmer from Ballingarry, said he encountered three men with lurcher dogs who had trespassed on his land on Saturday last.

“A neighbour rang me and said they had been in his place and had now gone into mine,” Mr Kenny revealed.

“When I appeared they legged it, and once they got out on the road there’s nothing you can do.”

Mr Kenny said he approached the men, who confirmed to him that they were not from the area.

He said Saturday’s incident was just the latest is a number of cases involving men from outside his community arriving with dogs to hunt hares on his land.

ONGOING

“It’s an ongoing thing, and you get fed up after a while. They just arrive in with no regard for anything and give you dog’s abuse when you approach them,” said Mr Kenny.

He revealed that sometimes the hunting groups can number up to six men.

“You stand your ground, but they can be intimidating. They only laugh at you anyway because they know there is nothing we can do.

“I’m a hunting man myself, but you always ask permission [to enter lands] and if you are not wanted you don’t go in.”

Mr Kenny added: “Over the years I have had horses put out through fences. My cattle run away because they get frightened, and it’s never seen by these hunters as their problem.”

He had called the gardaí, but said their powers were limited. “I’m not blaming the guards, their hands are tied too.”

Falling numbers in the force in recent years and reduced opening hours in some garda stations meant it was difficult to get officers out to the scene swiftly to catch the hunters in their illegal activity.

Mr Kenny said the worst decision was to close rural garda stations over the past several decades. “Because when there was a guard in each village he knew everything that was going on. If anyone stepped out of line he was on them like a hot cake.

“There was never any hassle before, but now these lads know there is going to be no guard here within three quarters of an hour.”

The latest incidents in Ballingarry co-incide with checkpoints by the Garda and officers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Lorrha and Rathcabbin last weekend in a bid to tackle illegal hunting.