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Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
The first day of the Co. Limerick Coursing Club J.P. McManus Irish Cup, an annual meeting where greyhounds course hares with a €80 first prize at stake on Limerick Racecourse at Greenmount, Patrickswell, on Feb. 22, in Limerick, Ireland.
While I am certainly happy that these athletic greyhounds are muzzled up, it does strike me as somewhat vicious to make a poor hare run for its life while its pursuers are taunted with a feast that they will never get. The hare ends up terrified and the greyhounds hungry. That said, the animals don’t get hurt and it looks like they are having a good time getting the exercise.
Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
Ian MacNicol / Getty Images
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go bunny go!
"The animals dont get hurt" - MSNBC
What part of animal torture do you find not harmful?
This is roughly the same as that POS Mike Vick claiming that dogs maiming each other "...is a sport...". Anyone who thinks this is "sport" or "fun for the bunny" should check out their moral compass -- if they have one.
They haven't.
There is nothing funny about this pic. How would you like to, in similar circumstances,be chased by like numbers of lions or bears?
I wish this would be Vick being chased (without any weapons) by lions, tigers, bears.
Actually, that is rabbit Hitler.
We have an adopted greyhound. They are horrible abused, kept in cages all the time, underfed, isolated, hung from their necks when they lose races, beaten, and when they can no longer race and possibly win money for their cruel, greedy owners they are abandoned or murdered. Thank God many states have made greyhound racing illegal.....now the remaining states need to put an end to this cruel "sport." Greyhounds are one of the most loving, intelligent dogs you will ever find! And NO animal deserves this horrid treatment.....the rabbits included! Sick men participate in this cruelty!!!
Whew! The posts here are thick with the stench of PeTA!!!
Not happy with these photos..........what's the point??
Seriously! A picture of a terrified rabbit being run to death for "sport?" They use mechanical "rabbits" on the tracks; if this was some sort of training exercise, why can't they also use a mechanical rabbit for that? Shame on whoever set this scene and shame on MSNBC for making it one of their pictures of the week. Animal abuse should NEVER be encouraged. Poor rabbit; even if it didn't die, it did suffer for the benefit of some stupid humans.
Disgusting... this is animal abuse!!! I can't even begin to believe the off-the-cuff attitude Ms. Jiminez has. Hopefully she'll hear from the majority of members of every animal rights group in the free world.
Disgusting.
OMG, this is the meanest thing I have ever seen. Not a single animal in these photos is having "fun" nor are they playing and it is certainly not sport. Please take it off your page. The world does not need NBCNEWS to promote terror and animal abuse as a photo blog to look at. Unless you are willing to condemn the actions of those who put these animals in this situation, then post away.
This is a photo of the day NBC? What's next? Bullfighting? Whale poaching? Absolutely repulsive.
Those Rabbits must be terrified! And Just by the way the dogs look no less, Those dogs look like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs :)
We own greyhounds. The dogs in these pictures are having a wonderful time. This is what they were bred to do over thousands of years. As sighthounds, they chase down game by sight (movement) and hunt it independently of their owner. This is opposed to dogs like retrievers which take the animal after the owner has hunted the animal. The basket muzzles are actually to protect the greyhound as well as the rabbit. Greyhounds are fiercely competitive while running and can snap at one another. Off the track, they are calm and gentle dogs who love nothing more than to lay on a cushy bed and nuzzle a stuffie. And, of course, be petted.
The rabbit, however, is NOT enjoying itself. Here in the states, greyhounds still chase "prey". It is a popular sport with retired racers, called lure coursing. The lure is NOT a live animal, but usually a plastic bag sprayed with animal scent. The bag follows along a course and the dogs chase it down. I have also seen a few lure coursing events where scented fleece was used. Either way, NO animals! The joy for these hounds is the chase - no need whatsoever to terrify another animal to achieve that.
P.S. My plug for greyhound rescue/adoption! There are thousands of these dogs removed from the track every year. Greyhound adoption has greatly reduced the number of euthanasias but plenty more greys would be happy to be taken home to their own couch or dog bed! If you're thinking about a large dog, research the greyhound. :-)
Actually, having had a beagle (scent hound), I don't doubt at all that the greyhounds were having a great time - and that they were fine and not being abused at all. They were doing what they are bred to do and what they love to do.
But I still consider what was done to the rabbit as animal abuse - pure and simple.
No animal should be made to suffer for the pleasure of humans - ever.
(I wish I could adopt a greyhound; from what I understand, retired greyhounds are just great big couch potatoes. LOL Maybe some day........)
I agree about the rabbit! That is why I added the second paragraph. I don't understand why they couldn't just use lures like we do here in the states. Unless they cite "tradition"... While the dogs were having a marvelous time, not so much with the rabbit. I actually wondered to my spouse whether the rabbit survived after the dogs were captured. I've heard rabbits can easily die of a fright like that. Cruel. My boys are more than happy to chase the fleecy stuffed mailman squeaky toy. Safer for the real mailman, too! Lol!
Having had pet house rabbits for over 20 years, I can assure you that this is animal abuse! Rabbits are extremely sensitive and fearful creatures. "The hare ends up terrified and the greyhounds hungry. That said, the animals don’t get hurt and it looks like they are having a good time getting the exercise." Natalie, not only are you not exactly a scientist, you are incredibly naive when it comes to living things. Do you think a woman would enjoy being chased by rapists with knives until they fell exhausted? Hey, nobody is hurt and all had a good time exercising!! The very word "terrified" should indicate to you the degree of suffering and stress this animal is experiencing. My god, I can't believe anyone is that ignorant. TAKE THIS OFF YOUR SITE! It's very disturbing to people who love animals. It's not the first time this type of disturbing "animal news" has been on the site. I NEVER click on your animal photos for fear of being disturbed by them. I clicked on this only because I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING.
They're not encouraging anything, they're documenting the news. That's what the news does. NBC thanks for sharing the photos, even if I disagree with them.
I don't agree--a news organization does not display photos of animal cruelty that would be illegal in the US and make the comment "the animals don’t get hurt and it looks like they are having a good time getting the exercise." It's the result of a journalist being too stupid to recognize cruelty when they see it and promoting these as neat photos of some animals getting some exercise playing.
And by the way Natalie, not only is this cruel, but it is so cruel that USING LIVE RABBITS TO TRAIN GREYHOUNDS IS ILLEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES. What's next?
I encourage people to find the "contact" button at the bottom of this page and request the removal of these photos.
We find it entertaining to watch a terrified creature run for its life? Really??? Shame on us. And don't let get me started on the plight of retired greyhounds.
I agree with DarkShadow1701. ABSOLUTELY REPULSIVE.
Saw that in Madrid,we were doing 52mph in a VW bus and just barely passing the rabbit,dogs weren't muzzled.Cats are estimated to kill a million birds each year and tree huggers are worried about one rabbit.They breed like rats and are nuisance rodents,Australia is having a bad time with that.
Yes about the feral cats! Help feral cats by shooting them. Or let greyhounds use cats for coursing bait.
Rabbits are not rodents, they are lagomorphs.
Window strikes and collision with high tension wires- in other words, "humans"- kill more birds than feral cats & domestic cats combined! Window strikes alone may kill up to 976 million birds yearly. In addition, humans' autos, pesticides & communications towers kill countless millions more. Feral cats are feral because of irresponsible people who abandon pets. The best way to control the feral cat population is Trap, Neutered, Release. Without the ability to breed, their populations will continually decrease as the older members of a colony die. There is some thought that, while humans are responsible for indiscriminate kills, animals who hunt birds usually catch the weaker, injured and "slower" birds, and may actually contribute to the health of the bird population as a whole. Of course, the best way would be for "human" beings to take responsibility for their actions in the first place. NO living being deserves to be scared to death, or tortured in any way, other than in the natural world, where animals have to hunt to eat.
This is crazy! Wtf?!
Hare coursing is illegal in much of the United States and UK. However it is still a competitive sport throughout the world in places such as Russia, the Western US and as shown here, Ireland.
Progress has been made to eliminate the cruelty of this "sport," by enforcing muzzles upon the greyhounds. It's a step forward, no longer allowing the dogs to be scored on how well and swiftly they kill the animals. I agree that NBC could've been a little conscientious in their captions, but I appreciate these photos because it makes me more aware of pressing issues I'd otherwise be oblivious to -- and that is what journalism is for, no?
There is nothing funny about the terror caused by the eminent loss of ones life. How would you like to, in similar circumstances, be chased by like numbers of lions or bears?
Cruel and sic. There is nothing funny about the terror caused by mortal fear of the eminent loss of one's own life. How would you like to, in similar circumstances, be chased by like numbers of lions or bears. Letting dogs bull a rabbit should never be a sport.
What can readers do about this? Who can we contact (obviously not the author) to TAKE THESE PICTURES OFF THE INTERNET? This really upsets me, it is ruining what was a quiet night.
This is disgusting. To the reporter who thinks that the animals don't get hurt and looks like they are having a good time, try being the hare. She obviously never heard a rabbit scream in terror, or have a heart attack from fear. The dogs will always win because they have more stamina and the rabbit cannot get away since it is an enclosed area. Just because the dogs can't bite the hare does not mean they can't kill it. There will never be peace between people in the world until the animals are treated with compassion as well. Sick bastards.
Egotists can objectify anything.
This is bent stuff traumatizing animals for sport. The descendants of Neanderthals enjoy this kind of stuff.
Actually, spqr2, there are events in the US that do use live animals for coursing. In the desert southwest, greyhounds are sent out after jackrabbits. Although you claim the greyhounds are having a great time, they are at serious risk of severe injury, especially in untamed areas, as the dogs are running at 40 mph or better over uneven ground, often out of sight of their handlers. You just have to hope they don't get so badly injured that they can't make it back.
However you do it, running live animals against other live animals for entertainment is cruel and inhumane.
Hares are very touchy animals, and all it takes is the slightest hit from or bump against something and they get killed.