A wife “absolutely scalded” her husband for engaging in illegal Irish hare hunting in Doolin, Co Clare, a court has heard.
At Ennis District Court, Christopher Donovan pleaded guilty to going onto lands and using a lurcher dog in order to illegally hunt a wild animal, a hare, contrary to the Wildlife Act on October 23, 2022 at Teergonean, Doolin.
Donovan of Bay 3, Glen North Halting Site, Ennistymon was one of five men stopped by gardaí during the day in a car after being spotted earlier – by state-employed conservative officers – hare hunting with lurcher dogs at Teergonean, Doolin.
Gardaí also found five lurcher dogs in the boot of the car.
Illegal hare hunting
Prosecuting the case on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, barrister Lorcan Connolly (instructed by Clare state solicitor, Aisling Casey) told the court that “thankfully, no hares were found in the car”.
In court, conservation officer with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Penny Bartlett said that she took up a vantage point in the area “and observed men crossing fields with lurcher dogs off the lead and unmuzzled”.
The NPWS officer observed the dogs being let off the lead to hunt hares and saw the dogs on several occasions chasing hares across fields and into gardens.
She added that the hare “is a protected wild species and local populations are in decline where this activity occurs and it is a frequent enough occurrence in north and west Clare”.
“It is a very cruel sport. It is highly organised and can involve trespass and intimidation of landowners,” she told the court.
Court
Solicitor for Christopher Donovan, Tara Godfrey told the court that her client wanted to apologise for his actions that day.
The solicitor said that the driver of the car that was stopped, and where Christopher Donovan was a passenger, told gardaí that he was only chasing rabbits.
Tara Godfrey said that her client’s wife “absolutely scalded him” for his involvement in hunting the hares.
She said: “Mr. Donovan has promised both his wife and myself that he will never associate with this sort of activity again. He condemns this sort of activity here and has no animus towards the wild Irish hare.
“Mr. Donovan comes from a background where hunting rabbits would have been very common and there would have been rabbit pie and when things were short, rabbit would have been a staple part of the diet.”
In response, Judge Gabbett said: “This is not about rabbits.” In reply, Donovan’s solicitor said: “I know it is not about rabbits.”
She added that her client, Christopher Donovan, “has learned a very sharp lesson here today”.
The solicitor told the court that Donovan is an unemployed married father of one “and is someone who has never been before the court before for this sort of behaviour and he will stay well away from this sort of behaviour into the future”.
Judge Gabbett imposed a €300 fine on Christopher Donovan for the offence.
Two of Donovan’s co-accused, Patsy Casey and Simon Casey Senior both of Clondong, Southill, Limerick failed to show in court and Judge Alec Gabbett issued a bench warrant for their arrest to be brought before court.