HARE COURSING....
Organised hare coursing is followed by a few thousand people in Britain
today. More coursing is done outside official clubs and a courser can operate
within a club one day and outside it the next. The hare coursing season runs
from September through to March. The highlight of the coursing year is the
Waterloo Cup, held at Altcar, where hundreds of hares may be coursed.
The aim of hare coursing is for two dogs (usually greyhounds) to compete with
each other in a test of speed and agility in pursuit of a live hare.
There are three types of coursing: 1) Static coursing where hares are driven
onto a particular field to be coursed 2) Rough or 'walk-up' coursing where a
line of coursers and supporters walk across country flushing out hares as they
go, and 3) Park or enclosed coursing in which hares are caught and held captive
before the event and released into an enclosed arena to be coursed.
The last form only takes place officially in Northern Ireland and Eire. In
all forms of coursing the two dogs competing are held back by a man called the
'slipper', who waits until the sighted hare has approximately an 80-yard start,
before releasing both dogs. The dogs used for coursing are faster than the hare,
which then has to rely on twisting and turning to avoid capture. Points are
awarded for how the individual dogs cope with this 'turning', by a judge on
horseback.
Coursing supporters admit that one in five hares are caught by the dogs,
although the real estimate is probably much higher, depending on conditions..
Caught hares often become the subject of a living tug of war between the dogs,
lasting many minutes before supporters can retrieve it and finally put the
terrified animal out of its misery.
AND HOW TO STOP IT...
The best way to prevent any hares being killed at a coursing meet is to
ensure that there no hares in the vicinity of the coursing field.
Hunt saboteurs do this by employing the tactic of pre-beating ('beating'
refers to beating the ground to panic animals into fleeing in a certain
direction). Large numbers of sabs wearing bright clothing and waving bright
flags or fertiliser bags, walk in a straight line driving hares downwind,
outward and away from the coursing fields . Whistles and horns are also blown to
encourage the hare to run in front of the saboteurs and away from the coursers.
As hares do not like to be on unfamiliar ground, sabs may have to remain in
strategic positions to prevent the hares returning to the coursing field.
It is not difficult to sabotage a coursing meeting - the tactics used can be
taught in a morning, and if you can walk, make noise and work with people as a
team, you can sabotage a coursing meet and save the lives of many
hares.
Please Note: Don't try this on your own as hare-coursers have a
well earned reputation for violence against sabs. 
The best way to prevent any hares being killed at a coursing meet is to
ensure that there no hares in the vicinity of the coursing field. Hunt saboteurs
do this by employing the tactic of pre-beating. Large numbers of sabs wearing
bright clothing and waving bright flags or fertiliser bags, walk in a straight
line driving hares downwind, outward and away from the coursing fields .
Whistles and horns are also blown to encourage the hare to run in front of the
saboteurs and away from the coursers. As hares do not like to be on unfamiliar
ground, sabs may have to remain in strategic positions to prevent the hares
returning to the coursing field.
It is not difficult to sabotage a coursing meeting - the tactics used can be
taught in a morning, and if you can walk, make noise and work with people as a
team, you can sabotage a coursing meet and save the lives of many hares.
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