TDS CLASHED IN the Dáil today over government’s decision to oppose a bill that would ban hare coursing.

The People Before Profit bill to ban hare coursing was debated at second stage in Dáil Éireann this evening, with a vote on whether to progress the legislation due to take place next Wednesday.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael opposed the bill, while The Social Democrats, the Greens and Labour backed it, as well as independent TDs Ruth Coppinger and Barry Heneghan. 

Hare coursing is a controversial sport that involves a hare being released in an enclosure and chased down by greyhounds, before being let go into the wild.

Although the dogs are muzzled, the hares can still be injured and even killed. Under Ireland’s Wildlife Act, hares are a protected species, but despite this, Ireland is one of only three EU countries where hare coursing is still legal.

Up to 6,000 hares are captured for coursing each year, with many killed or injured during events.

Introducing the bill this evening, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy highlighted a recent Red C opinion poll which found 77% of the public disagree with hare coursing.

“The public out there is overwhelmingly opposed to hare coursing in both rural and urban areas,” he said, adding that there is not an urban-rural divide on the issue.

While speaking on the plinth of Leinster House on Tuesday, Murphy urged Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to give their TDs a free vote on this issue.

This evening, he said TDs who privately support a ban on hare coursing, but vote against it, only have a “cowards defence”. He added: “You are just following orders”.

Representing the government, Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins said animal welfare is of the “utmost importance” to himself, the government and the Department of Agriculture.

Niall Collins described the comparison between domesticated pets and hares as "nonsense".

“On behalf of the government I am opposing this bill,” he said, before highlighting several reasons, including protections and regulations under the current law on hare coursing, conditions attached to coursing licences, research around the impact of coursing and the benefit of coursing to rural communities.

“Regulated coursing under the Irish coursing club has continued for over 100 years,” he said, adding that it adds a structured introduction to animal care and responsibility for young people.

“We are opposing the bill. We don’t do government by referendum or opinion polls. We take a structured, regulated approach. And yes, while it’s a minority pursuit it doesn’t mean it can’t continue, and under this government it will continue,” he said.

‘Unnatural’

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said “it is completely unnatural to pull a wild animal from their environment to cage them for weeks and put them out in front of a greyhound and essentially let them run for their lives”.

“To do that and call it a sport is probably one of the things I have the most difficulty with,” she added.

The TD asked Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins if he would be happy for his pet dog or cat to be chased.

“Would you be happy if your family puppy was being chased around so other people could bet on them, or your family cat. These are living creatures. You’re laughing at me now,” she said.

Collins could be heard describing it as a “nonsense comparison”.

Whitmore said she doesn’t think it is a “ridiculous argument” to compare hares to a domestic animal.

“It all comes down to a level of empathy and what we consider to be acceptable in this society,” she added.

Collins later said “there’s an attempt to try and demonise” people involved in and supportive of coursing.

“It is a minority pursuit, and just because an opinion poll expresses a particular point of view doesn’t mean that government has to follow a course of action or a view expressed by an opinion poll,” he added.