Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2020
275. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timelines for the duration of the study by the National Parks and Wildlife Service for research into the survival and behaviour of hares released into the wild after being rescued from hare coursing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31230/20]
View answerThe Irish hare [Lepus timidus hibernicus] is listed on Annex V of the E.U. Habitats Directive [92/43/EEC] and is also protected under the Wildlife Acts [1976 and 2000]. The species is considered to be in favourable conservation status.
Hare coursing in Ireland is administered by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) which is a body set up under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958. Statutory responsibility for the Act resides with the Minster for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Licences are required by the ICC under the terms of the Wildlife Acts to facilitate the capture of hares and the tagging of hares for closed park meetings. Hares are netted in advance of coursing meetings and then kept in dedicated hare parks for a period of several weeks. After coursing they are released again in to the wild.
A contract for the provision of research into the movement and survivorship of hares after coursing is due to be awarded shortly; the tendering process is already complete. This research will examine the survival and movement of hares after coursing and compare the results with a cohort of hares that have not been coursed.
Fieldwork is expected to begin in December or January. Hares will be fitted with state-of-the-art GPS collars allowing their movements to be tracked for up to 6 months. Following collar retrieval analyses of the resulting data will begin in summer 2021. Final delivery of all tasks, including the preparation of a scientific paper on relevant findings from the study, is required by March 2022. If Covid-19 restrictions prevent field surveys from being completed, an extension to the contract in 2022 may be necessary.
