Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2020
259. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she is considering measures to prohibit or reduce the practice of hare coursing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14140/20]
View answerThe control of live hare coursing, including the operation of individual coursing meetings and managing the use of hares for that activity, is carried out under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. My responsibility relates to the conservation status of the hare.
While the regulation of hare coursing is not under my statutory control, licences are required by the Irish Coursing Club under the terms of the Wildlife Acts on behalf of their affiliated clubs to facilitate the netting and tagging of hares for closed park meetings. The annual licence to capture and tag hares for the 2019/2020 coursing season was issued by my Department on 9 August last year. The licences granted by my Department in such instances include a range of conditions in relation to coursing hares which are designed to provide as much protection as possible to the conservation status of the hare.
Arising from the outbreak last summer of the RHD2 virus which affects both rabbits and hares the initial licence was suspended and a revised more restrictive license was subsequently issued to the Irish Coursing Club.
My Department has received an application from the Irish Coursing Club for licences to capture and tag hares for the forthcoming 2020/21 hare coursing season and a decision will be made on the application in due course.
