Coursing clubs make life easier for poachers

DJ Histon, of the Irish Coursing Club, paints a rosy picture of a ‘sport’ that is banned in Britain, Northern Ireland, and many other jurisdictions. 

He emphasises the supposed conservation work of coursing clubs, citing a study that claims hares are 18 times more plentiful in areas where clubs operate.

This is an absurd argument. It goes without saying that there would be more hares on sites where coursing clubs maintain a supply of the animals for baiting, just as far more pheasants would be found in areas where driven shoots are organised, because the shooters have a vested interest in having enough of them to shoot.