Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 February 2013
159. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if a licence application has been received by his Department for an extension to the hare hunting and or beagling season into March 2013. [10806/13]
View answerThe Irish Masters of Beagles Association (IMBA) applied for a licence to my Department to hunt hares outside the dates provided in the Open Seasons Order for hares. Specifically, they applied for a licence to hunt hares from 1 March 2013 until 17 March 2013. My Department refused the application, which is consistent with previous years' requests.
County Limerick Coursing Club, which is a club affiliated to the Irish Coursing Club, applied for a licence to hold a hare coursing meeting from 1 March until 3 March 2013, which is outside the Open Season for hares. This licence was applied for, and granted on a precautionary basis, to be used only if their coursing meeting scheduled for 22 February to 24 February 2013 was postponed (e.g. due to bad weather/unsuitable ground conditions). In that context, no extra days coursing would have taken place. As the original meeting went ahead on the scheduled dates, the licence issued will not now be used.
