Ban coursing and protect endangered hare

While welcoming Minister Deenihan’s ban on the hunting of Kerry red deer and the curlew, I would urge him to go a step further, because this is the same minister who a few months ago issued a licence permitting the capture of thousands of hares for live coursing events.

The Irish hare, like the Kerry red deer, is a precious part of our wildlife heritage. It is, in fact, our longest established mammal, a sub-species unique to Ireland that has been around since the last Ice Age. This iconic creature has disappeared from many districts and has taken a major hit from loss of habitat resulting from modern agriculture and urbanisation. Ireland’s official Red Data Book on flora and fauna lists the Irish hare as a threatened species.

There is no excuse for the continued legality of hare coursing, a practice in which these gentle creatures are snatched from their habitats, and then terrorised for the pleasure of humans.