Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 30 November 2016
43. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to the comments of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (details supplied) during the debate on the Animal Protection (in relation to hares) Bill 2015, his views on the matters expressed by the Minister; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37401/16]
View answerAs I stated in my reply to PQ 37400/16 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 (BnG).
The ICC has assured my Department that it has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved in coursing and that it goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of welfare are adhered to. This includes a requirement that only muzzled greyhounds can compete in park and open coursing events.
Hares can only be collected for coursing by clubs affiliated to the ICC in accordance with the terms of licences granted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. I outlined the requirement of these licenses in the previous PQ reply.
The ICC also attends to the welfare of the hare and undertakes a range of actions to address issues related to health and welfare. Coursing clubs are required to comply fully with directives, instructions and guidance notes issued by the ICC in all matters relevant to the coursing meeting.
A Monitoring Committee on Coursing is in place, comprising officials from my Department, the ICC and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to monitor developments in coursing. The Monitoring Committee has reviewed the most recent season and concluded that the procedures and processes in place in terms of animal welfare are reasonable and appropriate, given that 99.33% of all hares netted for coursing were released back to the countryside at the conclusion of coursing.
I believe that it is critically important that those involved in coursing must operate in accordance with the regulatory framework and that the welfare of both hares and greyhounds is foremost at all times.
