{"id":2191764,"date":"2026-07-13T18:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2191764"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:38:39","slug":"bill-to-ban-hare-coursing-overwhelmingly-defeated-by-125-votes-to-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/test-platform5\/bill-to-ban-hare-coursing-overwhelmingly-defeated-by-125-votes-to-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill to ban hare coursing overwhelmingly defeated by 125 votes to 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Bill to ban hare coursing was overwhelmingly defeated in the\u00a0D\u00e1il\u00a0by 125 votes to 24 as all\u00a0Fianna F\u00e1il\u00a0TDs voted in line with the party whip, including those who personally supported the legislation.<\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in\u00a0also opposed the Bill during the vote on Wednesday night, making its rejection inevitable.<\/p>\n

The legislation was introduced by People Before Profit TD\u00a0Paul Murphy\u00a0and aimed to prohibit the coursing of hares with dogs by amending the Wildlife Act 1976 and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.<\/p>\n

As expected, Fianna F\u00e1il Dublin Rathdown TD Shay Brennan voted with his party. He said publicly last week he would vote against the legislation in line with the Fianna F\u00e1il whip.<\/p>\n

The legislation has divided party TDs but Brennan said a \u201cgrowing number of TDs\u201d are finding it increasingly difficult to defend a pro-coursing position.<\/p>\n

His party colleague, Carlow-Kilkenny TD Peter \u2018Chap\u2019 Cleere said on RT\u00c9 it was one of the most regulated sports in Ireland and a popular rural tradition.<\/p>\n

The Social Democrats, Labour and Independents Charles Ward and Paul Gogarty also supported the Bill to ban coursing.<\/p>\n

The legislation would make it an offence to enter a dog for a hare coursing event, permit a dog to be entered for such an event, or to attend, participate or knowingly facilitate the event.<\/p>\n

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Brown hares can be distinguished from rabbits by their larger size, longer hind legs and black-tipped ears. Photograph: Richard Bowler\/REX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In hare coursing, a hare is released and chased by muzzled dogs, with the winning dog judged to be the one who first forced the animal to turn. Animal rights bodies say the practice terrifies the hares and is inherently cruel.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Wednesday, Murphy had called on Taoiseach\u00a0Miche\u00e1l Martin\u00a0to allow TDs to \u201cvote with their conscience\u201d on the issue to \u201cban the barbaric practice of hare coursing\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said by doing so they would \u201cjoin the North and the rest of Europe in saying that terrorising animals is not entertainment or sport\u201d.<\/p>\n

Murphy said they would help \u201cstop thousands of Irish hares being captured from the wild every year, crammed into crates and then into enclosures with other hares despite them being solitary animals\u201d.<\/p>\n

The hares would then be made to \u201crun for their lives from dogs that are ten times their size and with hares being pinned to the ground, thrown into the air and killed every single year.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he knew \u201cmany Fianna F\u00e1il TDs have told constituents that they are opposed to hare coursing and want to vote against it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Dublin South-West TD asked Miche\u00e1l Martin his own position and if he was personally in favour of coursing, or thought it \u201cokay to torture wild animals for fun or for gambling\u201d.<\/p>\n

He questioned the existence of a report that nobody seemed to have seen, four years after Minister of State said in 2022 that an \u201cindependent economic analysis estimated that coursing contributed approximately \u20ac70.7 million annually to the Irish economy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Murphy said the same figure had been repeated by Fine Gael TDs and the Irish Coursing Club, which he claimed had refused to supply it to The Journal news website when it requested the document, \u201csupposedly because it has to be presented to their members first\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach said he had not seen the report. \u201cIt is not surprising that people would have done studies and analysis on this, but it is more than just economics in any event.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThere are people in rural Ireland who would have diametrically different opinions or approaches\u201d to Murphy.<\/p>\n

Every party \u201chas its own rules in respect of a vote of conscience\u201d, he said. \u201cIn the Government parties\u2019 situation, it is in respect of human life issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach said \u201ccoursing is regulated significantly more tightly here as a result of previous legislation. The post-ban experience in Britain and Northern Ireland witnessed a rise in illegal hunting and poaching, and the need for dedicated police operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we over-regulate or ban it this can lead to worse practices as well. That is something that has to be factored into this.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article <\/a>by Marie O\u2019Halloran was first published by The Irish Times on 9 July 2026. Lead Image: Northern Ireland has voted to ban hare coursing, making it the last part of the UK to do so. Photograph: Jon Super\/AP.
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