Hare Coursing

Akin to fox hunting with hounds, hare coursing was introduced to Ireland by the British Empire in the 1500s. This blood-sport activity involves greyhounds/lurchers and Irish hares. Irish hares are protected under the 1976 Wildlife Act, however, this act strangely enough, also covers the use and murder of hares for hare coursing. Hare coursing has been a contentious issue for several years in Ireland, unlike other better-hidden blood-sports. It has already been banned in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

So what is it? There are 70+ hare coursing clubs in Ireland, a substantial amount considering most people would have little to no knowledge of its existence in their locality. The objective for the coursers is to “turn the hare” using sighthounds (the term used for hunting dogs who hunt by sight rather than scent). They will release a caught hare into a purpose-built closed space, give them a small head start then they will release the dogs.

A comprehensive description of the current situation in Ireland regarding hare coursing can be viewed here, from our colleagues NARA: https://naracampaigns.org/hare-coursing/

Hare poaching is trespassing on private land to catch hares, perhaps for food or fun. Although the same type of dogs hare coursers use are used to poach hares, this does not typically involve competition between two dogs. Hare poaching is quite common, and multiple prosecutions have been achieved over the years.

So we have established that this activity is not acceptable, how can it be stopped? As these events are not open to the public, it can be quite tricky. Preventing these “coursers” from netting the hares in the first place would be a good option if you do happen to see them on your travels. Both NARA and ICABS are running comprehensive campaigns to get the blood-sport banned.