Paul Murphy TD’s bill to ban hare coursing will be debated in the Dáil on Thursday, July 2 next.
The Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020, which aims to bring cruel hare coursing to an end in Ireland, is set for a Second Stage debate and vote.
Mr Murphy held a press conference in Dublin yesterday to highlight the upcoming debate. A number of representatives from Irish animal welfare organisations also attended.
Laura Broxson of the National Animal Rights Association NARA, and Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports ICABS and Conor Dowling of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals NSPCA, spoke at the conference to outline their organisation’s view on hare coursing.
Paul Murphy TD said: “The Irish hare is a protected species, yet legislation allows the Minister to authorise the trapping of hares and for their use in coursing. Over three thousand hares are captured each year. In recent coursing seasons, over 100 hares have been killed, euthanised or died. Many more die from shock soon after release. This is all to satisfy the gambling industry and the profiteering of a few.
“This so-called sport is not a ‘rural pursuit’. It is a cruel legacy of colonialism that has been banned in the North since 2011 and is banned across most of Europe. Most people in Ireland, including in rural areas, want it banned here too.”
The Ban on Hare Coursing Bill aims to ban hare coursing in Ireland, which would be in line with already existing bans in Northern Ireland and a lot of Europe.
NARA
Laura Broxson of the National Animal Rights Association NARA said, “We all saw the enormous backlash from the public following the decision by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to vote against the bill to ban fox hunting in December, so we hope they don’t make the same mistake twice.
“Even if none of them cares about animal welfare, surely they are required to follow the wishes of the people who vote for them? Hare coursing is another colonial remnant that we have appallingly clung to. It’s time it was abolished.”
ICABS
Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports ICABS said, “The Irish Council Against Blood Sports commends Deputy Paul Murphy’s Private Member’s Bill to ban hare coursing. We call on Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin to support the Bill and/or allow a free vote on this animal cruelty issue.
“77% of Irish citizens, according to a RED C poll in 2019, want to see hare coursing banned, so our parliamentarians need to respect the clear wishes of the majority. That is their duty.
“Hare coursing is outlawed in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, leaving our republic as the last bastion of backwoods barbarism. It’s way past time for this appalling cruelty to be banned.”
NSPCA
Conor Dowling, NSPCA Director of Advocacy and Policy said, “The Irish hare is a unique Irish species. It has continuously inhabited this island for tens of thousands of years, long before humans first arrived here.
“An icon celebrated in Irish folklore, the hare has long been one of Ireland’s most recognisable cultural symbols and was even depicted on coins following the establishment of the Free State. More recently, an image of a hare was incorporated into the logo of the newly formed NSPCA.
“The NSPCA supports Deputy Murphy’s Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020 and encourages all TDs to vote in favour of the bill when it returns to the Dáil on 2 July. We also call on the leaders of all political parties to allow a free vote on this issue, enabling TDs to vote according to their conscience rather than the party whip.”
Animal welfare organisaations have launched a massive lobbying of TD’s campaign to get them to vote for Mr Murphy’s bill in advance of the issue being debated in the Dáil.
Live Hare Coursing
Hare coursing is an activity in which two greyhounds pursue a hare for the purpose of gambling. Two forms of coursing are practised in Ireland – enclosed coursing and open coursing.
Enclosed coursing involves a hare being chased within an enclosed arena by two greyhounds. Since 1993 in Ireland, the greyhounds must be muzzled, but it has not stopped hares being injured or killed during the pursuit to an area known as the hare escape where hares can run into a compound away from the greyhounds.
Open coursing involves chasing a hare with two un-muzzled greyhounds. Hares for such meetings are herded into a coursing field from a wide area by the “beaters”, some of whom may be 2 or 3 miles away. In hare coursing when a hare is caught, it becomes a living tug of war between the two greyhounds.
View: The Animal Health & Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill 2020,
https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2020/26/eng/initiated/b2620d.pdf
View/Donate: National Animal Rights Association NARA
https://www.naracampaigns.org/donate/
View/Donate: Irish Council Against Blood Sports ICABS
https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports
View/Donate: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals NSPCA
https://nspca.ie/
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