Here's a review of his book by Andrew Knight BSc, BVMS, CertAW, MRCVS, FOCAE

Fellow, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

There have been very few books that have made me lock myself into the bathroom, bolting the door to ensure I simply could not be interrupted. None, in fact, until Bad Hare Days. Oblivious to the demands of life outside, I read on spell-bound, horrified yet enthralled, by this incredible true-life story.

As a young man John Fitzgerald’s accidental witnessing of the secretive and brutal killing of a wild hare led to his revulsion of the cruelty inherent within the traditional Irish sport of hare coursing. His campaign to educate the Irish public and politicians about such cruelty was entirely understandable, 100% legal, and motivated by compassion.

Until the publication of this book, few would have believed the depths of hatred and vilification that such a campaign could provoke, in a supposedly modern society. Most disturbing of all, was the prolonged harassment of the author by Ireland’s now notorious Garda Siochana, or national police force. The sordid role of the Gardai in these events was disturbingly similar to that of a secret police force, tasked with the harassment or suppression of political dissidents.

Repeatedly arrested at dawn, and taken to locations kept largely secret from his family and friends, the author endured the most appalling psychological interrogation techniques, all aimed at securing false confessions, and implicating others. The use of such blatantly unethical and illegal techniques has deeply stained the honour of the Gardai.

The author is to be commended for surviving these prolonged interrogations, with his resolve intact to continue his campaign against animal cruelty. Bad Hare Days provides a vital warning for social activists of any persuasion about what might lie in wait for them, should their campaigns become more than a minor irritation to the powerful.

By publishing his gripping story, John Fitzgerald has cast a spotlight upon a profoundly rotten core of our society. Such corruption severely undermines public confidence in Ireland’s justice system, and must be rooted out.

I'm sure you all are as excited as I am to get hold of this book so here is a little taster:

(excerpt)

…The picket proceeded in a peaceful manner, with the buzz of gentle conversation distracting us from the cruelty inside. Our sole purpose was to protest for two and a half hours and then leave, having made our point.

But the mood changed after about twenty minutes of silent walking up and down the public road outside the venue.

A woman who was a member of our campaign group emerged uneasily from the field, flanked and followed by more than twenty coursing fans, who were roaring threats and obscenities at her. She had obviously been identified as an observer...a spy from the enemy camp.

The men in pursuit of her were raging. Slowed down by their Wellingtons, they still moved with considerable agility. An intense anger drove them. The cause of this became apparent when a burley fellow, his fists beating the air, shouted: “Ye’ll pay for what ye did at Ballyknock coursing field”, a reference to one of the venues sabotaged the previous week.

Many of them wielded axe handles or sticks, and a few were armed with makeshift batons…short lengths of hosepipe. They spilled out onto the busy Cork to Dublin road, blocking traffic from both directions. We had been walking close to the ditch along the road, allowing the cars and lorries to pass unimpeded.

They were hell-bent on confronting us. Despite pleas that we were there simply to protest peacefully, the fans began shouting at picketers and pushing them.

A woman in her late forties fell to the ground close to the gateway, having been poked and prodded forcefully with an axe handle. “You’re a bunch of ignorant thugs”, she screamed at them…an unwise but understandable retort.

As she rose to her feet, three men surrounded the woman, raining punches and kicks on her. Seeing this, half a dozen protesters ran to her rescue, throwing their placards behind them into the ditch on the side of the road opposite the field entrance.

As the protesters attempted to ward off her attackers, and extract her from the melee, other coursing fans threw themselves at them. All hell broke loose.

We were set upon by scores of frenzied men in green anoraks and Wellingtons. They lashed out savagely with fists, feet, hosepipe, and sticks.

These attackers were joined by reinforcements from inside the venue. They poured out through the gateway, screeching in demented, bloodcurdling accents…

More excerpts can be found here:http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=435073338&blogId=504901505

Bad Hare Days can be acquired from Borders UK, Waterstone UK, Fishpond (Australia), Bestsellers.ie (Ireland), among other book outlets, and from Amazon UK at: