Minor point to the author – the dogs are not tested on their ability to outsprint the hare, they are tested on their ability to out sprint each other, the first dog to deviate the hare from the line in which it was running being deemed the winner and going through to the next round.

Ban intensive chicken farms before you ban this, I know I would rather have the life of one of these hares then a chicken that is harvested as if it never existed!

I have never been to a hare coursing meeting either though I have found that most objectors to blood sports are generally misinformed. The objectors to these activities fall by and large into two camps – those who object on the grounds of cruelty, and those who are concerned about wildlife conservation.
The cruelty issue is somewhat subjective in nature and is often driven more by perceptions rather than hard facts, whereas the conservation issue is more objective and can be born out by surveys and studys.
It is well documented that the brown hare population has dramatically fallen nationwide in the last 50yrs and many factors have been blamed for this including coursing and changing agricultural practices.
It is often argued that in areas where ‘country sports’, or ‘blood sports’ if you prefer, are prevalent the quarry species concerned are more numerous through management of the population and the natural environment.
I attach a link to a report of a study carried out by Queen’s University Belfast that bears this out:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/donal-hickey/hares-more-plentiful-in-coursing-areas-115103.html

You can go to the National Coursing Meeting in Clonmel which will attract over 20,000 people and I can almost guarantee you will not see a single hare “torn asunder”

Would it better to introduce a proper animal welfare bill for protection of ALL ANIMALS and introduce proper legislation

I nevee been hare coarsing i know little about but i would rather listen to the opinions of the people involved than those involved in the animal rights camp. Most of these people believe we shouldnt eat animals & some of them have been engaged in terrorising members of the farming community & live exporters both of these groups involved in legitimate trade. In my view hare coarsing maybe cruel in some respects but overall its a popular sport.

So I can see that hare coursing is the “hot topic” with regards to this legislation, but does anyone know what effect it might have on other sports such as falconry, shooting, fishing etc? Attacking what’s left of these sports will destroy yet another rural industry.

how can u comment on something and have never been at it

In fairness the sport is a lot safer for the hares than it used to be. The dogs are muzzled. V few hares are killed or hurt. They still can be as the dogs will use their claws.
Will we be banned from killing flies soon or what about the poor fish who gets a hook in his mouth?
It would be a pity if it was banned.

if being chased by dogs stresses hares out to the point that the anxiety kills them how have they managed to survive in the wild its not as if wild dogs or wolves look at hares and think better not chase it incase i scare the poor thing is it

@Barbara, the sport is not male only. Have been to a few events. Its a great family day out. Try it sometime. Actually, don’t, you might enjoy it…..

You may not care about the torture of animals for ‘sport’, but a lot of other people DO care, and have been campaigning to have it banned for a lot longer than the current economic circumstance.

Townies versus Culchies. As a Culchie I say Feck Off!

As a side issue indications are that areas where coursing happens tend to have significantly higher populations of hares, it is believed this is as the land is kept for the Hare’s specifically.

Many hedgerow aimed EU incentives are actually bad for Hares as preserving hedgerows increases the predator and competition populations. Hares naturally like open spaces ie. mid fields. In coursing areas they dont harvest the fields during the Hare breeding season as the Hare’s reaction to unknown danger when in cover (ie long grass) is to be very still…. doesn’t work very well when the predator is in fact a combine harvestor.

For anyone with a university IP have a read-

Reid, N., Montgomery , W.I. & McDonald, R.A. (2007) Mammals and agri-environment schemes: hare haven or pest paradise? Journal of Applied Ecology, 44(6), 1200-1208

Reid, N., Montgomery, W.I. & McDonald, R.A. (2007) Temporal trends in the Irish hare population . Report prepared by Quercus for the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, N.I.).

Reid, N., McDonald, R.A. & Montgomery, W.I. (2007) Factors associated with hare mortality during coursing. Animal Welfare, 16(4); 427-434.

look i have greyhounds i go coursing and i can guarantee people who protest against it have nevd

Seems anything that is enjoyable is stopped… Just because there are small minorities who are against it they make themselves heard and get it stopped.. It’s an animal that is been
Killed.. So what! U eat Cow,pig,chicken, even ones that are young because it tastes better.. Double standards in society is an absolute joke.. Give it ten years ya will not be allowed do anything without been accused of some wrong doing…

This ‘sport’ is barbaric. Its hard to believe it is still legal. I am from the countryside and I can assure you its not a city versus country thing. Not all of us ‘culchies’ relish in the torture of small defenceless animals. Coursing is completely abhorrent.

Thank goodness. This “sport” is cruel and should be banned. Trouble is, it would go underground because the men who enjoy this and make money on it won’t want to see the end of their little enterprise. What’s the life of a hare compared to a few jars in the pub? Sickos

Ireland is in a mess and these jokers are hopeless , most of us don’t care about this , why can’t these paid public reps work on something that more than a handful of people care about ! Like will we have an income next year , next month or next week !

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. – Mahatma Gandhi. If you decide to treat animals like they aren’t sentient beings capable of feeling fear and other emotions then it becomes a quick hop to doing exactly the same to people you decide aren’t ‘worth’ as much. Which is exactly what we have been doing, we’ve never protected the weak and vulnerable hence 1in4 and the countless thousands consigned to a life (time) in asylums. We are starting to make a change but it won’t work if we become eliteist about whom we believe are the most vulnerabe.

The Irish hare is listed in the Irish Red Data Book as internationally important and in Apppendix 2 of the Bern Convention as a protected species.

They are in decline and they are protected yet it’s okay to literally scare them to death for fun? Find something your own size to chase.

they can get tore to shreds they hav muzzles on just shows u dnt no about it

This is welcome. Ireland really needs to get serious about animal welfare issues across the board, including when it comes to blood “sports” which have no place in a civilised society.

The organised opposition to even basic standards of animal welfare in this country is quite incredible, made all the worse by these self appointed guardians of the countryside claiming they represent rural people, which is completely disingenuous.

So well done to these two TDs for putting animal welfare on the agenda, especially Maureen O’Sullivan who is carrying on the late Tony Gregory’s great work in this area.

Government is capable of dealing with more than one issue at a time. It’s not an “either” “or” situation. And animal welfare issues have already been neglected in this country for far too long.

The number of hares affected by coursing isn’t the issue…any more than dog fighting was banned on the basis of the percentage of Ireland’s dog population used, or cockfighting was banned because it posed any threat to the rooster population.

It’s the completely unnnecessary cruelty involved. The dogs though muzzled can maul the hares, tossed them about like playthings. pin them to the ground, or otherwise injure them. The hare is a brittle-boned creature and internal injuries cannot heal. The there is Capture Myopathy,a stress-related condition that kills hares even AFTER coursing has concluded.

Rangers from the NPWS attend some coursing events and their reports on last season’s events, obtained under FOI, reveal that hares were injured or made suffer horribly at most of these these.

There’s a humane and perfectly reasonable alternative to the use of hares in coursing: Drag coursing has all the fun, action, excitement, and camaraderie the live hare coursing lobby so often talk about…but minus the cruelty. It took off well in Australia when live hare coursing was banned there. There is need or any justification for taking hares from their natural home in the countryside and setting them up to be terrorized and traumatised as live bait.

Fair play to Clare Daly and Maureen O’ Sullivan for propelling this issue back onto the political aganda. I was at the protest today and was delighted to see also Eamon Ryan, the Green Party leader, and, perhaps most significantly, Labour’s Joe Costello. Other Labour TDs sent their good wishes.

“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.”—Thomas A. Edison

In my opinion those who find gratification from attending these ‘sports’, be they men, women or children are beneath contempt!

yes it is but its like fox hunting tey dnt get caught tat often

Michael i would love you to get in the water with a great white & explain that to it. Eating meat is no less immoral than eating fruit or veg. Our bodies are designed for such activities. Eating other humans is definately questionable but it has happened. Contrary to popular held views we are just another species of animal. We kill other people for worse things than eating them so im not
convinced by your argument.

look just go to 1 nd comeback and talk to me about ten cos u no nothing bot it only wat people tell u

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58qbzC-GI4 Its barbaric!

Now the Fox is a hunter of hares, day and night, im thinking he kills hares, or maybe he just kills rabbits. What about the transport on our roads, do they kill hares?.
But would some one tell me why is it that coursing men/women and children go out and stop the poaching of hares?.
Some of ye would want to open your eyes, go to a Coursing Meeting and don’t be listening to old stories.

The point is : coursing dogs are muzzled, cant see how they tear a hare apart. Are not Hares more plentiful in places where Coursing takes place?.