People Before Profit has described hare coursing as a legacy of British colonialism and said it is “high time” the Oireachtas banned the “incredibly cruel practice”. 

There are 89 affiliated coursing clubs across the 32 counties, which are governed by the Greyhound Industry Act 1958. 

All hares involved in coursing events are captured under licence and all greyhounds involved in the event must be muzzled. 

Advocates of the sport believe it is an enjoyable way to spend a day, watching a sport that has been practised in Ireland for centuries. 

However, on Newstalk Breakfast, Dublin South-West TD Paul Murphy argued allowing hares to be chased down by dogs amounts to animal cruelty. 

“I think allowing hare coursing to continue says something bad about our society and our government - and the vast majority of people agree,” he said. 

“77% of people - a big majority in both urban and rural areas - in a poll a number of years ago said they wanted hare coursing banned.

“That's for a good reason; this is an incredibly cruel practice that was brought here by British colonialism, and involves now the capturing from the wild of thousands of hares each year.

“They're captured from the wild, they're held in captivity in quite close confinement for a number of weeks or months; they're trained and then they're used as live bait for greyhounds.” 

Hare coursing. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo.

Deputy Murphy added that hare coursing is “absolutely terrifying” for the animals involved and that dozens of hares are killed every year - despite the fact that the greyhounds are muzzled. 

“Sometimes they're thrown up into the air and many of them, of course, are injured,” he said. 

“Then many of them die later as a result of the pretty traumatic experience that they've been through.” 

Deputy Murphy added that death is “inherent in the sport” and said it was “high time” the Oireachtas banned the practice.

Main image: Hare coursing in Clonmel. Picture by: Jonas Gustavsson/SIPA USA/PA Images.