Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
447. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will remove hares from the open season order and stop all shooting, hunting and coursing of hares given the threatened nature of the Irish hare species and the pressure it is under (details supplied). [62995/21]
View answerThe Irish hare is protected under the Irish Wildlife Acts and can only be captured under licence; hunting of hares is limited to the Open Season. The Irish hare is also listed on Annex V of EU Directive 92/43/EEC (the Habitats Directive) and this listing requires member states to manage the species’ sustainably. The Habitats Directive also requires Ireland to make a detailed report every six years on the conservation status of all listed species, including the Irish hare. Ireland’s most recent report in 2019 included a comprehensive assessment of the range, population status, habitat and threats for the Irish hare. The report can be downloaded at www.npws.ie/publications/article-17-reports/article-17-reports-2019
The 2019 report notes that the Hare is widespread and common in Ireland with a broad habitat niche; it is found throughout the country from coastal habitats to upland heath and bog. The report does highlight some concerns about the loss of habitat quality due to agricultural intensification and afforestation, but overall the species is considered to be in favourable conservation status. In addition, the most recent Red Data List for Mammals in Ireland (2019) confirmed that the species is not threatened; it assessed the Irish hare as “Least concern”: www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/Red%20List%20No.%2012%20Mammals.pdf
The 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, as mentioned, 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 2021/2022 coursing season was issued by my Department on 23 July 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.
There are no plans at this time to remove the hare from the Open Season Order.
