Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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271. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline the regulatory, legislative or other steps he will take to address the issue of the large number of stress-related illnesses and deaths of hares in coursing compounds every year. [39260/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon (BnG). The ICC has assured my Department that it has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved in coursing and that it goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of welfare are adhered to.

A Monitoring Committee on Coursing is in place, comprised of officials from my Department, the ICC and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds.

Hares can only be collected for coursing by clubs affiliated to the ICC in accordance with the terms of two licences granted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. These licences contain 26 conditions which have been refined over the years, the majority of which are central to hare welfare, including the following:

- All clubs shall arrange for a qualified veterinary surgeon to be in attendance during all of their coursing meetings, who shall prepare a signed report on the health of the hares and on any injuries or deaths of hares that occur during the meeting;

- Hares may not be coursed more than once on the same day and all necessary arrangements shall be made to ensure that hares that have been coursed can be readily identified to ensure this condition is rigidly observed;

- Sick, injured or pregnant hares shall not be collected for coursing; hares that become sick or injured or that appear to be pregnant while in captivity may not be coursed;

- Adequate escapes must be provided while coursing hares pursuant to the licence;

- All hares must be released back into the wild during daylight hours the day after a coursing meeting is concluded, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant NPWS staff beforehand; and

- Hares must be released back into the wild at the same locations from which such numbers were captured, unless otherwise agreed beforehand with the relevant NPWS staff.

There must be full compliance with the Directives, Instructions and Guidance Notes issued by the Irish Coursing Club in all matters relating to the capture, keeping in captivity, tagging, marking, coursing and release of hares, and the muzzling of greyhounds.

The ICC attends to the welfare of the hare as evidenced by the following:

- The health status of all hares is assessed prior to placing in the Hare Park following netting;

- Hares are treated for a range of common ailments under veterinary supervision;

- Hares are released into the Hare Park which is laid out to replicate the wild with appropriate cover and shelter;

- Footbaths are located in the Hare Park to treat/prevent any minor foot issues;

- Hares are fed on a diet of oats (whole or sheaf), sallies (branches of young trees), apples and fresh water;

- The feeding and training of hares is confined to a limited number of people with the relevant expertise;

- All hares are familiarised with the coursing stretch and with the escape located at the top of the coursing field;

- Prior to each meeting, the hares and facility are inspected by a Hare and Field Committee member, a veterinary surgeon and ICC Control Steward;

- A veterinary surgeon certifies whether or not the hares are fit to course;

- A veterinary surgeon is appointed to attend on the day of coursing to advise and administer care when required;

- The Executive Committee (Board) of the ICC appoint one of its members to oversee each coursing meeting with powers to curtail or abandon a meeting if required;

- An ICC Control Steward is appointed to each meeting to ensure all rules are adhered to by the host club;

- On conclusion of the coursing meeting all hares are released back into the countryside under the supervision of an ICC steward and a Wildlife Ranger (if in attendance) each coursing meeting is documented to capture relevant information regarding the conduct of the meeting as required by the NPWS - this information is submitted to the NPWS and is available under FOI legislation;

- The ICC’s Hare & Field Committee advise and instruct clubs on best practice in terms of hare welfare and field layout to ensure greyhound welfare;

- The ICC provide full/partial grant aid to clubs to develop their facilities to ensure best practice;

- Quercus of Queens University Belfast, concluded that where there are coursing clubs there are 18 times more hares than in the wider countryside.

A review of the outcome for the most recent season indicates that the procedures and processes in place in terms of animal welfare are appropriate given that 99.49% of hares were released back to the wild at the conclusion of coursing.