Countryside Alliance Ireland and the Irish Coursing Club met with the Minister of the Environment Arlene foster on the 13th August 2007 and again on the 25th September 2007, following our request to discuss proposals for the new Special Protection Order (SPO) for the Irish Hare for 2007 – 2008.

We outlined our position and our support for the conservation of the Irish Hare indicating that coursing has played a major factor in providing a safe haven for Irish Hares by the management of their habitats under the watchful eye of the coursing club members. We requested that ministerial approval be given to hold a joint coursing event for Dungannon and Ballymena Coursing Clubs. This approval would have  allowed the Minister’s department access to scientific research into the health and condition of the Irish Hare and would have presented an ideal opportunity to gain unequivocal access and allowed transponders to be fitted to the hares when released.

However, the Minister informed us that she has decided to introduce a further SPO (temporary ban on the killing, taking and trade in Irish Hares) and that the ban will be introduced under the terms of the Game Preservation Act (NI) 1928, and will run for the period 1 November 2007 until 31st March 2008.
 
On a positive note she explained the reasoning behind her decision, that she is conscious of the need to maintain a general level of protection for the Irish Hare as we continue to monitor progress against the targets contained in the Species Action Plan. The Minister also informed us that she was aware that providing temporary protection for the Irish Hare through this SPO does, in effect, prohibit the taking of hares for coursing events in Northern Ireland and that her decision to extend the protection of this species is based purely on scientific evidence on the overall population of the Irish Hare.  

“The protection measure for the Irish Hare is simply that it is not deliberately intended to ban hare coursing. The department and field sporting organisations wish to achieve the same goal of increased hare numbers. Indeed, Professor Montgomery, Head of the School of Biology and Biochemistry at Queen’s University Belfast has previously stated that coursing clubs have made a positive contribution to the conservation of the Irish Hare, through active participation in research and other activities such as sympathetic habitat management.”