Absolutely, add fox hunting to the list while we’re at it. There’s this assumption that is part of rural life, which is crap. I’ve lived in the countryside my whole life, and I’ve yet to meet anybody local who’s involved in anything outside of shooting. There was a hare coursing club in the next village over, but it shut down years ago due to lack of membership. The only people I know turning up to these things are people from urban areas, out for relaxed Sunday of torturing native wildlife in the countryside. Will never understand these people’s mindset
Our ancestors gave Hares so much respect but here we are letting people scare the shit out of them and mauling them to death.
What’s the purpose of hare coursing?
Yes. next question please….
Of course it should. Anything more difficult to ask today?
All of these brutal “sports” should be banned and anyone found to be participating in them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Yes.
The use of animals for competitive sport should be banned.
Yes.
Somebody will be along shortly to say that everyone on here is a coddled urban office worker and couldn’t possibly understand the traditional Irish need to maul hares to death and have a carvery dinner afterwards.
Hare coursers will release a pair of young hares into an area and recapture them a year later and take what they need. They’ll purposely cut the muscles and tendons on one leg of the males and release them again making them easier to catch and preventing them from leaving the area. Them capturing the females that these attract. I myself had to put down a hare that crawled to my door after a coarser cut his leg muscles/tendons and inadvertently broke his hip whilst doing so. What a disgusting person to leave an animal suffering coming to humans asking for mercy.
Shouldn’t even be a question.
All animal cruelty labeled as culture to make it acceptable is wrong and needs to be banned with severe financial fines for those caught doing it. Hitting people who engage in this behaviour in their pockets is the only way to stop anything.
Absolutely, it is disgusting to think that humans would participate in such an activity.
I’m as rural as they get. I’ve lived my entire life in the countryside, grew up on a farm, currently forced to live in a village of 500 people and can’t stand how “urban” it is.
Blood sports should be banned full stop.
There is a difference between hunting to feed your family and killing animals for the craic.
If you go fishing and simply and deliberately kill the catch, just to leave it on a lough shore, that is universally regarded as a despicable act and rightly so. Why is doing it to animals & birds on land regarded as anything different?
Those saying it’s a part of our rural tradition, no it isn’t. It was the preserve of the gentry for centuries. It’s an *aristocratic* rural tradition, most of our ancestors were forbidden from taking the squires game.
In Brehon law, you were fined for killing wild animals heedlessly and without need- that’s our actual tradition. Not cosplaying with notions as Anglo-Irish gentry.
I heard someone arguing once how it was a good thing for the hares. I can’t elaborate because at that time my brain began to melt from my ears and I had to leave.
Do they eat the rabbits? Do they take the rabbits they hunted and make a rabbit stew, then use the pelts to make some gloves?
Listen I’m all for hunting if you’re using what you killed for something. If you’re hunting a deer then slowly working through a freezer full of venison that’s grand you’ve saved yourself some money on shopping and aren’t propping up massive meat farms.
But if you’re just doing it to kill something, nah that’s just savagery. Fox hunting seems similar. Last I checked there isn’t much meat on a fox. And fox fur hats or scarves haven’t come back into fashion. So the fuck you doing it for?
Yes. Immensely savage practice.
Yes! I hate this for these little animals.
Of course it should be
A lot of the focus here is on the Hares themselves, which is fair and warranted. However, the other side of this is the cruelty and lack of welfare afforded to the dogs used for coursing. There’s no end of sight hounds (mainly lurchers, grey hounds) being bred, mistreated, and abandoned all over the country.
How is this even a serious question in 2025?
Terrorising animals for your amusement is downright sociopathic behaviour, and those who support and condone such barbaric practices should be shunned.
It’s one of those issues that must have an overwhelming public opinion in one direction but yet no change.
Yes, it’s barbaric
Yes trapping wild animals to be chased by dogs for fun is shit
Ban it, it’s very cruel and achieves nothing.I think people who attend hare coursing are inherently dim.Oh and I’m from the countryside and a farming background so keep that BS to yourself.
27 comments
Absolutely, add fox hunting to the list while we’re at it. There’s this assumption that is part of rural life, which is crap. I’ve lived in the countryside my whole life, and I’ve yet to meet anybody local who’s involved in anything outside of shooting. There was a hare coursing club in the next village over, but it shut down years ago due to lack of membership. The only people I know turning up to these things are people from urban areas, out for relaxed Sunday of torturing native wildlife in the countryside. Will never understand these people’s mindset
Our ancestors gave Hares so much respect but here we are letting people scare the shit out of them and mauling them to death.
What’s the purpose of hare coursing?
Yes. next question please….
Of course it should. Anything more difficult to ask today?
All of these brutal “sports” should be banned and anyone found to be participating in them should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Yes.
The use of animals for competitive sport should be banned.
Yes.
Somebody will be along shortly to say that everyone on here is a coddled urban office worker and couldn’t possibly understand the traditional Irish need to maul hares to death and have a carvery dinner afterwards.
Hare coursers will release a pair of young hares into an area and recapture them a year later and take what they need. They’ll purposely cut the muscles and tendons on one leg of the males and release them again making them easier to catch and preventing them from leaving the area. Them capturing the females that these attract. I myself had to put down a hare that crawled to my door after a coarser cut his leg muscles/tendons and inadvertently broke his hip whilst doing so. What a disgusting person to leave an animal suffering coming to humans asking for mercy.
Shouldn’t even be a question.
All animal cruelty labeled as culture to make it acceptable is wrong and needs to be banned with severe financial fines for those caught doing it. Hitting people who engage in this behaviour in their pockets is the only way to stop anything.
Absolutely, it is disgusting to think that humans would participate in such an activity.
I’m as rural as they get. I’ve lived my entire life in the countryside, grew up on a farm, currently forced to live in a village of 500 people and can’t stand how “urban” it is.
Blood sports should be banned full stop.
There is a difference between hunting to feed your family and killing animals for the craic.
If you go fishing and simply and deliberately kill the catch, just to leave it on a lough shore, that is universally regarded as a despicable act and rightly so. Why is doing it to animals & birds on land regarded as anything different?
Those saying it’s a part of our rural tradition, no it isn’t. It was the preserve of the gentry for centuries. It’s an *aristocratic* rural tradition, most of our ancestors were forbidden from taking the squires game.
In Brehon law, you were fined for killing wild animals heedlessly and without need- that’s our actual tradition. Not cosplaying with notions as Anglo-Irish gentry.
I heard someone arguing once how it was a good thing for the hares. I can’t elaborate because at that time my brain began to melt from my ears and I had to leave.
Do they eat the rabbits? Do they take the rabbits they hunted and make a rabbit stew, then use the pelts to make some gloves?
Listen I’m all for hunting if you’re using what you killed for something. If you’re hunting a deer then slowly working through a freezer full of venison that’s grand you’ve saved yourself some money on shopping and aren’t propping up massive meat farms.
But if you’re just doing it to kill something, nah that’s just savagery. Fox hunting seems similar. Last I checked there isn’t much meat on a fox. And fox fur hats or scarves haven’t come back into fashion. So the fuck you doing it for?
Yes. Immensely savage practice.
Yes! I hate this for these little animals.
Of course it should be
A lot of the focus here is on the Hares themselves, which is fair and warranted. However, the other side of this is the cruelty and lack of welfare afforded to the dogs used for coursing. There’s no end of sight hounds (mainly lurchers, grey hounds) being bred, mistreated, and abandoned all over the country.
How is this even a serious question in 2025?
Terrorising animals for your amusement is downright sociopathic behaviour, and those who support and condone such barbaric practices should be shunned.
It’s one of those issues that must have an overwhelming public opinion in one direction but yet no change.
Yes, it’s barbaric
Yes trapping wild animals to be chased by dogs for fun is shit
Ban it, it’s very cruel and achieves nothing.I think people who attend hare coursing are inherently dim.Oh and I’m from the countryside and a farming background so keep that BS to yourself.
Yes. It is a shame on our nation.
When it was banned in the UK traveller rights organisations called it a [“racist attack” in their traditional way of life](https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/news/2022/02/adding-hare-coursing-amendment-police-bill-racist-attack). You wouldn’t be a racist now, would you?
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