Sir, - On Wednesday night in the Dáil Paul Murphy’s Bill to ban hare coursing was defeated. The three major parties Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin used the “whip” to tell their TDs how to vote. This term originates from fox hunting in the 18th century, with the whip or “whipper” being responsible for keeping the dogs from straying during the hunt. How ironic that in 2026 the whip was used to oppose a ban on hunting our beautiful Irish hare, an exquisite creature that is solitary by nature and that suffers extreme stress from being trapped and kept in captivity for weeks or even months on end. Of course gambling is at the very core of this activity and punters watch and place bets while the animal is chased by dogs. Ireland has a significant gambling problem but nonetheless hare coursing has the support of the Government. Bafflingly, the hare is a protected species under Irish law yet the legislation allows the Ministers for Heritage and Nature to issue licences to the 89 coursing clubs to catch the hares for what can only be described as legalised cruelty. – Yours, etcJOAN BURGESS Annmount Cork