Balbriggan coursing club is free to capture dozens of hares for another bloodsport meeting, despite the National Parks and Wildlife Service acknowledging “significant issues with the coursing meeting in Balbriggan in November 2024” and “identified breaches of licence conditions”.
A letter from the NPWS to the Irish Coursing Club (obtained by the Irish Council Against Bloodsports under the Freedom of Information Act) states:
“More tagged hares on site than were listed in the hare capture form: 70 tagged hares were noted on site on Saturday 23rd November, however, there were only 68 listed on the hare capture form. Explanation from Balbriggan coursing club on the day was that those capturing hares had miscounted. However, in a phone conversation with Chairman XXXXX [REDACTED] he stated that hares had been captured on 17th September after the form had been completed on the 16th. That form was not delivered to NPWS until the 18th so why weren’t all hares listed?”
The letter, from Marie Gormley of the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife Licensing Unit went on to address issues surrounding veterinary involvement at the animal cruelty event: “Nominated vet XXXXX was not present, however, another vet XXXXX presented himself in the boxing shed. NPWS staff were unable to contact XXXXX; in addition mobile number was a UK number so was uncontactable through the NPWS mobile phones. Conduct of nominated veterinary surgeon was not acceptable. On Saturday 23rd he did not present himself until lunchtime, on Sunday he was late arriving so correct hare welfare checks were not carried out, he refused to follow the conditions of the licence and to comply with reasonable requests made by NPWS staff.”
Among the other issues raised was concerns about the welfare of a “juvenile and sickly hare” who “was not treated and its condition was not notified to NPWS staff present on the day”.
The NPWS reported that this hare “subsequently disappeared and club explanation was that it had escaped,” adding that “it would appear that the sick hare never received any veterinary attention”.
“Lack of input and inspection from the vets present and from the club led to the possibility that injured and/or sick hares were only detected by NPWS staff and therefore there can be doubt as to whether all other hares were fit and well,” the NPWS letter continued. “Injured/sick hares went unnoticed by club personnel and vet.”
The NPWS official also commented that the “number of hare stewards, performance and speediness of response to pinning of hares was inadequate – two pinned hares were killed” and noted that “on multiple occasions, the space between the front escape and the escape chute was occupied by both dogs with the hare running in the park, so therefore had no access to the escape.”
It was also noted that there was a “lack of stewards to call off dogs, often long after the course winner had been decided [which] caused unnecessary stress for the hare” and that the “control steward was not in a position to observe the pinning of hares, fatalities etc - returns data submitted by the Control steward were taken from the notes of NPWS staff.”
There were questions too about hares who were not there at the end of the meeting - “only 2 were observed escaping by NPWS staff, however, a total of 5 hares were missing at the final count”.
Concern was also expressed about the release of hares who survived the coursing ordeal.
According to the NPWS letter:
“There was little or no correlation between hare capture and release sites, with two sites visited multiple times with three separate releases.
“At one site, hares were released down a public laneway and not on a greenfield site, in near dark conditions.
“Hares were released in three different sites in absolute darkness.”
Licence condition 14 makes it clear that “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”.
In April and May 2025, the Irish Council Against Bloodsports wrote to Heritage Minister James Browne and Nature Minister Christopher O’Sullivan to highlight suspected breaches of licence conditions.
We told the Ministers that Balbriggan coursing club’s capture form showed that 68 hares were netted from the wild but on Day 1, there were an additional two hares present.
Responding to a Dail Question from Paul Murphy TD earlier this year, Minister Browne stated that “It is understood that the Question may relate to two young hares which were seen in the vicinity of the coursing field and were captured by the coursing club. These young hares were not coursed and they were released with the main cohort of hares under National Parks and Wildlife and Irish Coursing Club supervision.”
We believe that the absence of these 2 hares on the coursing capture form constituted a breach of licence condition 3 - “A return giving details of the numbers and locations (including tag numbers as requested under condition 4 of the licence issued to ICC under Section 32 of the Wildlife Acts) of THE CAPTURE OF ALL HARES made by the coursing clubs listed in the schedule attached hereto, made on foot of this licence, shall be made available to the Minister and the relevant NPWS Officer.”
We also pointed to the fact that a NPWS ranger answered NO to the question “were hares certified fit for coursing by vet?” and that in response to the question “were the same number of hares released as far as possible in the same location that they were captured”, a NPWS ranger stated NO. We told the Ministers that if the ranger did not agree to this, it constituted a breach of Condition 15 - “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.”
Condition 32 of the licence makes it clear that “IT IS AN OFFENCE UNDER SECTION 69(6) OF THE WILDLIFE ACTS TO CONTRAVENE A CONDITION, attached to a licence or permission, granted by the Minister”.
Balbriggan coursing club has been included in the 2025-26 hare netting licence shamefully granted by Minister James Browne to the Irish Coursing Club. More hares will be netted from the countryside and forced to run for their lives at the club’s next scheduled animal cruelty meeting on Saturday and Sunday 22/23 November 2025.
ACTION ALERT
HELP THE HARES: Tell Heritage Minister James Browne and Minister of State for Nature Christopher O’Sullivan to give full protection to the Irish Hare and WITHDRAW the 2025-26 coursing licences.
Minister James Browne (Fianna Fail, Wexford)
Tel: (01) 618 3094
Email: minister@housing.gov.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.browne.enniscorthy
Twitter: https://x.com/jamesbrownetd
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbrownetd/
Christopher O’Sullivan TD (Fianna Fail, Cork South West)
Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity
Tel: (01) 618 3095 or 023 88 11011
Email: mos@housing.gov.ie; christopher.osullivan@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopher.osullivan.716
Twitter: https://twitter.com/COSullivanTD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher_o_sullivan_td
SAMPLE LETTER
(If you have time, please compose your own personal letter. Otherwise, feel free to send the sample letter below)
Dear Ministers Browne and O’Sullivan,
I am writing to ask you to please WITHDRAW the licences you granted for another season of cruel hare coursing.
The licences allow coursers to net thousands of hares from the wild, transport them in boxes to coursing compounds, manhandle them, hold them in captivity for weeks/months and eventually force them to run for their lives in front of greyhounds.
All the hares suffer fear and stress and, despite the muzzling of the dogs, hares are injured and killed every coursing season when they are caught and mauled. Among the injuries documented are broken back, spinal injury, broken legs, damaged toes and dislocated hips.
Hares suffer at all stages – during capture, while held captive and at the coursing meetings where they can be seen desperately running as a merciless mob cheer the greyhounds on and gamble on which dog will be first to force the hare to change direction. Coursing compromises the welfare of hares and those who survive the ordeal remain at risk of dying from stress-related capture myopathy in the days and weeks after they are released back to the wild.
There is also the very worrying issue of disease spread among hares when they are forced together in unnatural high density. The National Parks and Wildlife Service division of your Department has made it clear that “the catching of hares in nets, their transportation in boxes and the collection and holding of hares in confined areas can all be considered to increase the risk of disease spread”. In relation to the highly contagious RHD2 virus, the NPWS has stated that “if one infected animal is found in netting for a coursing meeting, then the entire capture would need to be put down.”
With the suffering, stress, injury and death caused to hares at coursing meetings, there should be no hesitation in finally ending this shameful activity by refusing 2025-26 licences. This would be widely welcomed by the 77% majority of Irish citizens who want coursing banned (just 9% disagree with a ban. Source: RED C poll).
Ireland is in the middle of a biodiversity crisis and it’s time for the iconic Irish Hare to be given full protection and allowed to live free from persecution. Please withdraw the licences as a step towards a long overdue ban on coursing.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
[Name/Address]
Urge Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon to remove exemptions for hare coursing and fox hunting from the Animal Health and Welfare Act.
Martin Heydon TD
Minister for Agriculture
Tel: 01-618 3017
Email: minister@agriculture.gov.ie; martin.heydon@oireachtas.ie
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/martinheydonfg
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/martinheydonfg
It is time for politicians to consign coursing and hunting to history. Join us in contacting all TDs and urging them to act to ensure that a ban is urgently introduced. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/34
Contact the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein and tell them that you want hare coursing and all bloodsports banned.
Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD
Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD
Please sign and share the petitions
Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing
Ireland – Ban cruel hare coursing
http://www.change.org/p/ireland-ban-cruel-hare-coursing
Witness the cruelty of hare coursing in Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntgYjH06czs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIKc2CS4ko
Please support our campaign with a donation
https://www.paypal.me/banbloodsports
http://revolut.me/icabs