Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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74. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will report on the issuing of hare coursing licences for the coming season. [40719/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The control of live hare coursing, including the operation of individual coursing meetings and managing the use of hares for that activity, is carried out under the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, which is the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. My responsibility relates to the conservation status of the hare.

Last month, my Department issued licences under the Wildlife Acts to the Irish Coursing Club, covering some 87 affiliated coursing clubs, to capture and tag hares for use at regulated hare coursing meetings for the 2017/18 season, which extends from the end of September 2017 to the end of February 2018. 

There are a total of 22 conditions which are associated with the licences issued to the Irish Coursing Club which have been developed and refined over the year.  These conditions cover such items as not coursing hares more than once a day, not coursing sick or injured hares and releasing hares in daylight hours after meetings.  

Hare coursing meetings are monitored, as resources allow, by conservation rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of my Department in order to ensure compliance with the conditions of the licences.