Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

The Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill (NI) was introduced into the NI Assembly in 2010 to amend existing wildlife and environment legislation.  The resulting Act has now been enacted and will become law from Wednesday 17^th August 2011.   

Within this Act is the provision to ban hare coursing events.  The Act clearly states that a person commits an offense if they partake in any aspect of a hare coursing event, or allow a dog to participate in a hare coursing event.  The Act defines a hare coursing event as “a competition in which dogs are, by the use of live hares, assessed as to skill in hunting hares”. 

Lyall Plant, CAI Chief Executive, commented, “It is only organised events that are prohibited.  It is still legal for responsible country sports enthusiasts to course individually.  All the Act has succeeded in doing is to reduce the extensive conservation effort that was undertaken by coursing clubs in Northern Ireland.”

Coursing clubs are scientifically recognised as an important conservation force.  Queens University Belfast research has stated, “Without legal, well organised and regulated coursing, much of the costs of conservation will fall exclusively on government”.  In fact, research undertaken by QUB (published in 2010) found that the Irish hare is 18 times more abundant in areas managed by coursing clubs than in similar sites in the wider countryside. 

We believe that the sustainable and productive use of our natural resources is a defining characteristic of the Northern Irish countryside and of paramount importance in sustaining our rural communities.