hare coursing

[Kayleigh]

This barbaric practice is on the increase why...

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Hare coursers 'flout Hunting Act'

What makes people do this..and why is it on the increase..
I cant understand it and what can be done to prevent it.

[James M]

I don't Elaine..I just don't know, it makes you shake your head in disbelief doesnt it?

In the article one of them say "it's not cruel" yes...of course being ripped to shreds by a dogs isn't cruel at all is it?

If they are really bothered about pest control, why not come up with other ways of control? I suppose it's similar in a way to fox hunting..it's all for the sport of killing something even though some won't admit it, it makes you wonder about what goes on in their minds toa ctually enjoy killing things. It's shocking to hear that farmers are actually being threatened by them, I suppose it just shows you what type of people we are dealing with here.

[Jason Green]

Hi Kayleigh,

Thanks for posting this. It's a shame the Hunting Act isn't controlling these pests - the pests that think it's alright and 'Not cruel' to bring their dogs onto land that isn't theirs, threaten and attack farmers and finally send the dogs in to rip a poor hare apart just so the owners can... well, whatever. Absolutely disgusting. No other words.

Take care,

Jason

[connerlake]

The good news is the hare is well adapted to this and is usually too fast and agile and generally gets away, out athleting the dogs and outsmarting the people.

[Jason Green]

Originally Posted by connerlake

The good news is the hare is well adapted to this and is usually too fast and agile and generally gets away, out athleting the dogs and outsmarting the people.

That's good to hear Connor. The latter probably isn't hard!

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by connerlake

The good news is the hare is well adapted to this and is usually too fast and agile and generally gets away, out athleting the dogs and outsmarting the people.

Well it wouldn't take a lot to out smart the morons..
its just a shame the practice is not outlawed and policed properly and if they do get caught dealt with in the courts with appropriate sentencing how they get away with threatening the farmers is an out cry..
Yes lots of the hares do get away but lots don't.

[Alan K]

I've been an active anti-bloodsports campaigner for nearly 30 years.
The type of hare-coursing described in the BBC report is practised by people trespassing on other's land. Before the Hunting Act 2005, this was, and can still be, dealt with by police and courts under poaching and criminal trespass legislation. The people who do this are frequently violent criminals and their associates, so nobody should approach them if they see this happening. Phone 999.
No less cruel was the previously legal hare-coursing practised at organised events, notably the annual Waterloo Cup, at which crowds of up to 10,000 used to assemble. I attended it once, as part of a protest. It was utterly ghastly. The crowds were a strange mix of the obviously well-heeled and excuse the expression, underclass scum, many of whom were drunk. A policeman on duty there said to me that, if he could arrest everyone present, crime in Liverpool [the nearest big city] would be virtually eliminated overnight.
It is true that the hares escaped the greyhounds more often than not, but when they were caught a 'tug-of-war' would often ensue between the two hounds, with the screaming hare literally being ripped apart. This was what really got the crowds excited.
The hares used at the Waterloo Cup were mostly imported from other parts of the country. Caught in netting, they reportedly suffered up to 50% mortality just from capture and transport.
Because such events are confined to one location, and difficult to organise and hold without it being obvious, it does appear that the Hunting Act has been pretty successful in stopping them.
Unfortunately, this is about the only form of the cruel and barbaric practice of hunting wild mammals with dogs where the Act has succeeded. Fox, deer, mink and hare hunting continue, because of weak wording and loopholes in the Act and lack of enforcement. The principal way hunters are circumventing the ban is by pretending to be hunting a scent trail. But, where they bother with actually creating a trail at all, fox hunts are using ones made of actual fox scent and trailing them through areas known to be inhabited by foxes. The chases and kills that inevitably result are then blamed on 'accidents'.
Hare hunters claim to be hunting rabbits [not made illegal, for various reasons, under the Act] if challenged and hares caught are, similarly, 'accidents'. Hare hunting, generally using beagles [about 70 packs in the UK] is arguably even crueller than hare coursing. The hare, reluctant to leave its known environment or seek underground refuge, is chased by the pack for anything up to 90 minutes before being caught and torn to pieces.
Deer are still being hunted with hounds in Devon and Somerset, but using a ludicrous exemption that allows this for purposes of 'observation and study'.
All this is still happening for nothing more than the amusement of those concerned. These 'sports' do not, and never have had, anything to do with genuine pest control and their proponents never claimed they did - until they started to come under severe public censure for indulging in them.
It is obvious that the Hunting Act needs strengthening. Labour and the Lib-Dems will oppose repeal, but are reluctant to revisit the Act. The organisation I'm part of, Protect Our Wild Animals [POWA. www.powa.org.uk] is asking them to commit to strengthening.
But David Cameron [a hunter and shooter himself], the Conservative leader, is a bosom buddy of the bloodsports fraternity and his Environment spokesman, Nick Herbert, is a former avid hare hunter. They have pledged that, if the Conservatives are elected, they will repeal the Hunting Act, so that their friends can carry on their cruel pastimes completely unfettered by the law. So in thrall to the Countryside Alliance [formerly the British Field Sports Society] do they seem to be that when they recently said this repeal would be dealt with by a Private Members Bill, the howls of protest from the hunters immediately made them switch back to their original promise to do it via a Government Bill.
Incidentally, they also favour mass badger killing, because of that animals supposed role in spreading bovine TB.

[Kayleigh]

Please don't turn this thread into one of the long run "for and against fox hunting" threads..
This has been done to death and I keep out of politics I brought this up to highlight the fact this barbaric act is on the increase and the culprits are threatening the farmers coursing hares on private land and seemingly to be getting away with it.

Look in the hunting field sports area of this site to take up any issues with fox hunting..

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Well it wouldn't take a lot to out smart the morons..
its just a shame the practice is not outlawed and policed properly and if they do get caught dealt with in the courts with appropriate sentencing how they get away with threatening the farmers is an out cry..
Yes lots of the hares do get away but lots don't.

it is - the type described in that report is illegal , and the police do their best to deal with the problem (the police operation in the downs/TVP region is called operation migrate and involves regular police patrols in the hotspot areas) - however the police are reliant on inteligence from locals because they cant be everywhere at once so if you see coursing in progress report it on 999 - also if you can observe without getting too close record vehicle reg numbers and descriptions - but do not try to stop them yourself - I have been fired on by hare coursers in the past.

and kayleigh - I've just reported the troll, hopefully the mods will deal shortly

[The Woodman]

Alan K, with reference to your observation of hares screaming, are you familiar with paragraphs 177 and 178 of Stable and Stoddards "A Review of Coursing"?