A hare suffered a broken leg and was killed by a vet at Bandon & Carey's Cross / Macroom coursing meeting in November, it has emerged.
The disturbing details are contained in a document recently released by the National Parks and Wildlife Service – which disgracefully licenses the bloodsport on behalf of the Heritage Minister. The ranger's "notes" were omitted from a related coursing report published on the NPWS website but were provided after a request from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports.
According to a NPWS ranger who was at the meeting to monitor the persecution of this supposedly protected species, "one hare had to be eutanised [sic] as a result of injuries on day 2." This ranger went on to reveal that the injury was a broken leg.
The ranger highlighted a discrepancy in relation to the number of hares captured: "The Capture Return form had a total of 39 hares declared, therefore there appears to have been 2 extra hares present not accounted for in the Capture Return Form. When queried by NPWS officers about the two extra hares, the coursing club officials thought that the extra hares may have been hiding in the hare park and were not accounted for as a result."
This, despite a (redacted) hare capture form showing that the coursers had captured 41 hares in various locations.
The ranger's notes show that "during the coursing, a dog who had just coursed [a hare] managed to get through the escape and into the hare park where it chased the hares for 90 seconds before being caught".
"As far as NPWS officers could see, no hares were injured or hit/pinned from the dog on the loose in the hare park and it remained muzzled throughout," the ranger added.
The ranger also noted that:
On Day 1 of the 3-day animal cruelty event, 1 hare was pinned to the ground. This hare was not examined for injuries
On Day 2, 3 hares were pinned and 6 hares were examined for injuries (including the hare euthanised by the vet). Among the others was one who had 2 toenails missing and another who suffered a "right hind toe injury". An "untagged hare" was also examined by the vet and this hare was found to have a "superficial graze of toe [which was] treated with Alimycin spray".
On Day 3, 1 hare was hit and 1 was pinned to the ground. The pinned hare was "examined by vet", as was a hare who "collapsed on the course as it was running before dogs were released". The latter was "treated with Betamox as a precautionary measure".
After the coursing meeting at a hare release site, "one hare had a lame leg and struggled to run off".
The hares were among 41 captured from the wild in nets between 28 October and 16 November 2024 and held in captivity for up to 33 days. The vet had shamefully certified these hares "fit for coursing".
See the documents at
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/coursing-bandon-november2024.pdf
Shame on the Irish Government for allowing this cruel bloodsport to continue, despite majority support among the public for a ban. A 2019 RED C poll found that 77% want coursing banned, with just 9% disagreeing with a ban. A majority in both rural and urban areas are in favour of a ban.
Due to the cruelty involved, coursing is already illegal in all our neighbouring jurisdictions (Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales).
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 stop licensing cruel coursing.
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/?hl=en
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: 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
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
Urge the Veterinary Council of Ireland to act to end vet involvement in hare coursing.
Niamh Muldoon
CEO, Veterinary Council of Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 1 668 4402
Email: niamh.muldoon@vci.ie
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, Sinn Fein and the Labour Party 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
Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/
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