Bill to ban hare coursing to be debated in the Dáil next Thursday

TD Paul Murphy and animal rights groups are appealing to the Government to support their Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Hare Coursing) Bill.

Paul Murphy hosted a press conference, which heard Conor Dowling of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Laura Broxson of the National Animal Rights Association, and Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood speak.

This 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.

The Bill will be debated in the Dáil on Thursday, July 2, and will be voted on the following day.

Paul Murphy 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.”

Laura Broxson of the National Animal Rights Association added: “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.”

Aideen Yourell of the Irish Council Against Blood Sports 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.”

Murphy concluded: “My Bill is being supported in the Dáil by the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Green Party and progressive independents. I was pleased to see Sinn Féin voted to support a ban on fox hunting at their recent Ard Fheis, so I appeal to Sinn Féin to continue that commitment to animal welfare by voting for a ban on hare coursing to match the ban that has been in place in the North since 2011.

“Hares suffer and die at every stage of coursing - during capture, while held captive, at coursing meetings, and due to stress after being hunted. It’s time to end this cruelty”.