Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. There were some positive aspects to her reply. I want to stress the term "so-called trials" in my initial question because condition 23 of the licence is that it gives an opportunity to familiarise hares with the most direct route for escape and that there would not be more than one dog at any particular trial run. Somebody who rang up to book their dog in for one of these trial runs was told that the hares had been well trained. That indicates that any of the hares that had escaped are being kept in captivity to be used again. I stress that these trials are not for the benefit of the hare and to give it a more level playing field, as it were, when it comes to escaping, but rather for the benefit of the greyhounds so they will better be able to chase the hare. The Minister gave the report about how the coursing clubs and events are monitored but this just shows that this industry cannot be regulated. There is growing opposition to coursing and it is time for a ban. I do not believe the Minister supports activities where animals are badly treated and tortured.

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