Gormley agrees to issue licences for hare coursing

The Minister for the Environment has agreed to issue licences for hare coursing in the coming season, but has withdrawn a licence from one club and curtailed the activities of two others.

He has also postponed a decision on whether or not to allow stag hunting, pending information from the Ward Union Hunt.

John Gormley announced yesterday that he is to issue licences to the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) for the capture and tagging of hares for the coming season, which begins next month.

On the basis of breaches of the previous licence, he excluded one of the ICC-affiliated clubs for the coming season and curtailed the activities of two other affiliated clubs. Mr Gormley said he will be monitoring the remaining clubs for adherence to licence conditions. "I am aware that there has been some incidents where there has been a failure to co-operate with my department's conservation rangers at meetings."

"The rangers have an important role in ensuring that the conditions of the licences are met. I take a very serious view of this issue and I will not tolerate any breaches of conditions of the licence, or any interference with the conservation rangers while carrying out their job."

He also said he had a number of serious concerns about granting a licence to the Ward Union Hunt in relation to carted stag hunting. "I am writing to the Ward Hunt to afford it an opportunity of addressing those concerns before making a final decision on the matter."

The Ward Union is the only hunting group to apply to hunt carted stags, which are reared by a hunting group and brought by cart to a specific area where they are released and then hunted. There is no mechanism in Irish law to ban hunting, but under the Wildlife Act the Minister can issue or refuse a licence.

The Ward Union was involved in controversy last January when a stag was chased into a playground at the national school in Kildalkey, Co Meath, followed by the hunt's hounds, as children were leaving the school.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Council Against Blood Sports said they were very disappointed with the decision to continue coursing. A spokeswoman for the Hunt Saboteurs of Ireland said they were pleased to see that some clubs were being restricted.