In addition to licensed coursing in Ireland there are also clubs that engage in UNLICENSED hare coursing. Venues for this blood sport chosen by the gangs involved include the idyllic Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, a world-renowned beauty spot and Mecca for tourists. Once the tourist season ends, the coursing gangs arrive. 

The participants show even more contempt for the welfare of the hares they target than the licensed clubs do.

Terriers and mongrel fighting dogs as well as greyhounds are used to rachet up the levels of stress, trauma and injury inflicted on the hares.

Most of the normal pathetic so-called "rules" of coursing are discarded at unlicensed events as beer-swilling fans congregate to gamble and cheer on the dogs. The dogs, needless to say, often fare as badly as the hares. Those that fail to perform to expectations are disposed of.with a bullet to the brain or a whack from a spade or shovel.

Supporters of licensed coursing clubs can be seen at unlicensed events, taking advantage of the relaxation of “rules” to “blood” their dogs on live bait in the vicinity of a fixture at a nearby field or other location.

Rangers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) attend some coursing events each season to monitor them and file reports, but the unlicensed fixtures are not monitored by the NPWS.

Though all hare coursing should be banned outright, animal protection campaigners believe that police and the NPWS should be doing more to clamp down on the unlicensed events held at venues like Whiddy Island.

Let's appeal to the NPWS to act as a matter of urgency against the Whiddy Island hare coursers and similar gangs that operate throughout the countryside.

Email your message to:

nature.conservation@chg.gov.ieSample letter:

To: The National Parks and Wildlife Service

Dear Sir/Madam,

Though I oppose all forms of hare coursing and would like to see them outlawed in Ireland, I am appealing to you to act without delay against the horrifically cruel unlicensed coursing events that, up to now, the Irish authorities have, for some unexplained reason, failed to tackle effectively despite knowing these events are unlicensed. Hares and dogs alike suffer in this appalling “rural pastime.”

The scenic Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay is among the venues throughout Ireland despoiled by the gangs involved. Its global appeal as a tourist destination could well be undermined by its continued association with such a loathsome activity

Terriers as well as greyhounds are used to maximize the suffering of the unfortunate hares targeted in this so-called "sport."

Please see to it that the culprits, at Whiddy and elsewhere, are apprehended and brought to justice at the earliest opportunity.

Thanking you.