Patrick Nulty
Question:156 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will ensure the banning of hare coursing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24689/12]
View answerThursday, 17 May 2012
Questions (154)
Written answers
Under the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the improvement and development of the greyhound industry, greyhound racing and coursing.
The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under section 34 of the Wildlife Act 1976, has responsibility for the issue of an annual licence to the Irish Coursing Club, ICC, and its affiliated clubs to capture live hares.
A Monitoring Committee on Coursing was established in 1993/94 comprising of officials from my Department and representatives from both the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the ICC to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interest of animal welfare both for hares and greyhounds alike. Accordingly the Government does not plan to ban hare coursing.