Hare coursing arrests inquiry

Files are being prepared for the DPP over a garda clampdown on illegal hare coursing which saw nine people, including a 14-year-old, arrested, questioned, and released last week.

The arrests related to the alleged use of lurcher dogs to course hares on private land, sometimes setting up to five dogs in chase of a hare, for betting purposes.

Gardaí and officials from the National Parks and Wildlife Service carried out a joint operation on Wednesday targeting people suspected of involvement in illegal coursing and made nine arrests of suspects aged between 14 and 40 in the Clonmel, Cashel, and Thurles areas.

Equipment seized during searches in those areas included high-powered lamps used to catch hares at night-time — so-called “lamping” — and a trap, while a number of dogs were also seized and are being held by the authorities in Tipperary.

Lurchers are bred using greyhounds and other herding dog breeds, and can be used to catch hares without killing them. The hares are then used for coursing on farmland.

“They go into a field and let off a hare and could have three, four or five dogs after it. The hare has no chance,” a garda said. “They’re coming from all angles of the field.”

The practice of illegal coursing has been causing concern among supporters of the licensed sport for some time, with a committee being formed by several Tipperary-based clubs earlier this year.

The cancellation of a major annual event, traditionally held just before the National Coursing Meeting in Clonmel, because of the depletion of the hare population following a spate of poaching, prompted a large crowd to attend a public meeting in Cahir.

The Irish Coursing Club, has welcomed the clampdown on illegal hare-hunting which follows the establishment of a “reporting mechanism” to help gardaí and wildlife officials in their investigations.