Animal rights group urges kindness and respect for rats

"Rats are intelligent, sensitive and friendly animals who bear the brunt of human fears and prejudices," said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the Asia-Pacific. The group urged consumers to boycott companies that conduct "cruel experiments" on rats, mentioning several candy companies. PETA cited studies showing rats are "fastidiously clean animals who groom themselves throughout the day." They naturally have a pleasant perfume-like smell. The rodents are smart and can learn to recognize their names and respond when called, PETA said "Rats laugh and express joy," the PETA report said. "Recent studies have shown that when rats play or are playfully tickled, they make chirping sounds that are strikingly similar to human laughter." "Rats who live with people often seek touch play or tickling, in much the same way that dogs and cats do," PETA said.

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[John Fitzgerald]

Callan,
Co. Kilkenny,
Ireland.

Re. Bad Hare Days

I would like to tell you about a book I have written and had published on the controversial subject of live hare coursing in Ireland and the campaign to protect the Irish Hare. It’s called Bad Hare Days (published by Olympia Publishers of London) and in it I recount the ups and downs of campaigning on the issue over three decades.

In addition to exploring the nature of hare coursing from my own perspective as an animal protection campaigner, I also describe the social and psychological impact on campaigners of engaging in a difficult and tension-wrought campaign aimed at changing public opinion on this and other animal protection issues.

As I lack the resources to mount a huge promotional drive of the kind one associates with celebrity authors, I am doing what I can to “spread the word” about the book.

I’m not sure if it would be possible for you to mention the book on your website or in a newsletter. If not, I’d appreciate if perhaps you might tell someone about it. The “Bush Telegraph” can be most effective too!

If interested, you might like to read a review of the book and some further details at the following link:
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Hare-Days-John-Fitzgerald/dp/1905513674

I’m also on Facebook and I have a web page relating to the anti-hare coursing campaign and the book at
www.my-cause.com/ban_hare_coursing

Reproduced below is what the publisher’s promotional piece has to say about the book:

Bad Hare Days by John Fitzgerald

> In Ireland the 'humble hare' has been the subject of great controversy.
> After years of an abusive sport, which resulted in its child-like death
> screams being heard regularly throughout Ireland, a result was achieved.
>
> For those few dedicated people trying desperately to save the gentle
> creature from the horrors of the cruel sport of hare coursing, the
> struggle was painful and fought against great odds. The author writes
> about one of the 'world's most barbaric blood sports' continuing during
> a deadly period for the hares, the 1980s.
>
> His own peaceful and non-violent action and that of, initially, a few
> others' did arouse the public and achieve what at first appeared to be a
> hard-won benefit to the hare. But the hare's troubles were - and are -
> far from over. Though it can no longer be torn apart by greyhounds, now
> muzzled, it can still be mauled, injured, and tossed about like a rag
> doll on the coursing field.
>
> In addition to highlighting the hare's sad plight, this is also a
> campaigner's story. The author recounts vividly the ups and downs of his
> own fight against cruelty. He paid a major price in suffering as a
> result of being persecuted for his beliefs. The gentle hare, apart from
> its use and abuse in coursing, has now become an endangered species in
> Ireland, and this book reinforces its right to be protected.
>

Thanking you for your kind attention,

Sincerely,

John Fitzgerald

P.S. Apologies if I have sent you this message more than once. I’m emailing so many people I’m liable to make that mistake now and again!