Bad Hare Days [Paperback]

 

 

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This book is extremely well written and descriptive and well worth reading, hugely informative. I have to say that I stumbled across it quite by chance and it was a lucky find. I knew it would be upsetting but I found it inspiring too and embarassing as this happened in Ireland. John Fitzgerald is a brilliant writer and you almost feel that you are present, witnessing events. Excellent, and well done John, truly inspiring and thank you.

Though I am honoured that John Fitzgerald is now my friend on facebook, I wish very much that I had read his book earlier, for he and his book are inspirations to those of us who have been battling the barbaric 'sport' of hare coursing for years.

I feel so inspired by John Fitzgerald's story of courage against almost unimaginable odds in his native Ireland that I think that he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Unlike Barack Obama who has done little thus far, John Fitzgerald has done much for the humble hare and for humanity and he deserves greater recognition - at least from all lovers of wild animals.

'Bad Hare Days' describes in extremely graphic and horrific but almost matter-of-fact detail John Fitzgerald's nigh-on-three-decade campaign against cruelty, against bigotry, against hypocrisy and against much of the Irish 'establishment.'

I say cruelty because, whilst some people regard greyhounds chasing and tearing apart hares as a 'traditional' British (and it is and has been predominantly British) 'sport,' others have long since seen it as sheer cruelty.

I say bigotry because, whilst the cruel 'sport' of hare coursing has been practised in both England and Ireland by out-and-out rogues and ruffians, it appears that in Ireland, even the Catholic priesthood and others in the countryside otherwise looked upon as 'respectable' and 'respected' have supported it and, worst of all, have participated in it. These people are neither respectable nor respected and they are bigoted in their opinions and practices. The priests and the politicians, in particular, should have known better - much better.

I say hypocrisy because it is evident from both John Fitzgerald's book and my own long experience in England that there are misguided hypocrites in both Ireland and England - misguided hypocrites who seem to believe that they and their greyhounds are in some manner superior to the poor and gentle and mild-mannered hare. They appear to believe that God provided the latter to amuse the former. God help them, for it appears that they cannot help themselves.

The dreadful difficulties that John Fitzgerald has had with An Garda Siochana (the Irish police force) and the Irish Special Branch, both of whom appear often to have sided with the hare coursing 'establishment,' mirror to some extent my own in much earlier times with the Cambridgeshire Police, some of whose people it was difficult to work with. Time out of number I have been told on the telephone that 'we are a bit short of resources this morning, Mr Woollard.' This was shorthand for 'stop bothering us: we have better things to do with our time than attend to cruel rural crime.' Thankfully, things have improved in recent years, partly due to local police initiatives and partly, of course, to the fact that all hare coursing was made unlawful in England and Wales through the Hunting Act of 2004.

John Fitzgerald's campaigning in some respects also mirrors my own. Whereas he has been fighting the curse of hare coursing for nigh on three decades, I have fought it for four. Whereas he has seen some success, I also have seen some success. But whereas he is to be praised for never giving up, I retired from active farming (and pursuing hare coursers) in 1995 partly because the menace of hare coursing was getting me down. I gave up at that point, but John Fitzgerald battled on with uncommon bravery. I continued in desultory style to support those who brought about the British ban on hare coursing (and fox hunting), but I only came to life again when I realised that, if the Conservatives win the next General Election, they are almost certain to undo the Hunting Act 2004, to 'un-ban' fox hunting and, maybe, to 'un-ban' hare coursing as well.

Taking the magnificent example of John Fitzgerald into battle, I now intend to do all that I can to prevent these barbarians prevailing. We British led the way in banning the slave trade and in banning slavery in the Empire, we led the way in banning bear baiting and cock fighting, and we led the way in banning hunting and hare coursing. We must continue to make progress and not let our civilisation take a backward step.

Thank you, John Fitzgerald, for your courage, for your campaigning, and for your wonderfully well-written book chronicling both your courage and your campaigning.

Needless to say, this wonderful work warrants five stars.

For readers who might be interested in my own campaign, please google "NoToHareCoursing"

From his teenage years, John Fitzgerald has been a committed campaigner against blood sports. Bad Hare Days is his recollection of life as a campaigner.

Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of what the sport of hare coursing entails: greyhounds chasing hares and viciously mauling them to death. He compares the cries of the dying hares to the sobs of a baby or the wail of the Banshee.

The story is explicit, honest and at times disturbing. Fitzgerald shows the analogy between the cruelty he was subjected to at the hands of coursing supporters and the cruelty these same people inflicted on hares.

Bad Hare Days is also an account of a turbulent time in the history of hare coursing in Ireland and the events that brought this cruel sport to national attention. The author details opposition that former President Mary Robinson and Senator Noel Browne encountered when they made their case in favour of banning hare coursing in the Irish Parliament.

Bad Hare Days gives an interesting insight into Ireland in the mid-1980s. Fitzgerald shows how money, power, and establishment figures such as priests and farmers influenced parishioners and people in the surrounding neighbourhoods where the story is based.

Fitzgerald appeared in court on a number of occasions, accused of threatening and harassing hare coursing officials. On each occasion he was found either not guilty or the case collapsed.

For all Fitzgerald's efforts to raise public awareness of the cruelty of hare coursing there has been little change in legislation governing the sport. Had the 1993 Gregory Bill been passed, it would have banned hare coursing in Ireland. However, this Bill was defeated in the Dáil by 104 votes to 16; so hare coursing continues to be legal, albeit with the dogs muzzled.

The author captures rural Ireland of the 1980s. His use of descriptive language shows the contrast between Ireland then and Ireland of the Celtic Tiger. He does not pull any punches when repeating the verbal abuse that he endured while protesting against the cruelty of blood sports. The quirky nicknames that he uses for those who abused him, based on their own most-used insults, inject a much-needed air of humour into the book.

This book offers an interesting insight into the lengths that people will go to in order to protect their beliefs. Fitzgerald was willing to go to prison for speaking out against a cruel sport. Those who supported hare coursing were willing to allow an innocent man to be persecuted if it meant they could preserve their sport.

Bad Hare Days is a gripping account of what one person endured in order to campaign for what he believed in. The book asks the question, was John Fitzgerald treated any more humanely than the animals he campaigned to protect...against the brutality of hare coursing?

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