Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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283. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the rules, procedures and regulations regarding the capturing of wild hares for coursing. [24574/22]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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284. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the rules, procedures and regulations regarding the release of wild hares after coursing has concluded for example, if hares are released in the exact location in which they were captured; and the measures that are taken to distinguish which hare was captured from which location. [24577/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 283 and 284 together.

My Department issues a conditional licence to the Irish Coursing Club under Section 34 of the Wildlife Acts (as amended) to capture live hares.

Conditions 13 and 14 of this licence to net hares relate to the release of hares and state:

13. All hares must be released back into the wild during daylight hours at the conclusion of the meeting or the day after the coursing meeting has concluded, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant National Parks and Wildlife Service staff beforehand. Any hares released at any stage during the meetings and/or prior to the end of the meeting should be noted and reasons given on the Control Stewards Report.

14. The same numbers of hares must be released back into the wild as far as possible at the same locations from which such numbers were captured, unless otherwise agreed beforehand with the relevant National Parks and Wildlife Service staff.

A copy of the licences relating to coursing are available on my Department's website at the link below.

www.npws.ie/licencesandconsents/hare-coursing