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Animal Welfare Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 June 2012

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Ceisteanna (755)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Ceist:

760 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the statistics of hare deaths and injuries during hare coursing sporting events around the country in 2011 provided by an organisation (details supplied); if his further attention has been drawn to death of hares during the sport event, days after the sporting event, death through euthanasia and reports of hares being tossed and mauled during the event leading to injuries or death; if he notes there are discrepancies in the veterinary reports monitored by this organisation; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that muzzling does not prevent death or injury or necessarily reduce the circumstances by which hares may encounter suffering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26993/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

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, which is the statutory body with responsibility for the improvement and development of the greyhound industry, greyhound racing and coursing.

The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, under section 34 of the Wildlife Act 1976, has responsibility for the issue of an annual licence to the Irish Coursing Club, ICC, and its affiliated clubs to capture live hares.

The ICC has also informed me that 98.32% of hares netted for coursing in the past season were released back to the wild and that injury to hares by muzzled greyhounds is a very rare occurrence. The ICC has a robust system of regulation in place to underpin the maintenance of standards in the sport.

Bord na gCon has demonstrated its commitment to animal welfare and in this regard has a number of initiatives in place to ensure consistent and appropriate welfare standards are met. A Monitoring Committee on Coursing was established in 1993/94 comprising of officials from my Department and representatives from both the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the ICC to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interest of animal welfare both for hares and greyhounds alike.

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