Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds. In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare. Coursing can also be a form of hunting or pest control.
About Hare coursing in brief
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds. In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare. Coursing can also be a form of hunting or pest control. The sport grew in popularity in Europe during the 19th century, but has since experienced a decline due in part to the introduction of greyhound racing with betting, and animal welfare legislation. In recent decades, controversy has developed around hare coursing, with some viewing it as a cruel bloodsport. It is illegal in Scotland, Wales and England and became illegal in Northern Ireland in 2011. It continues elsewhere in the world as a regulated and judged, competitive sport, in places like the Republic of Ireland, Iberia, and the Western United States. Some critics suggest that coursing could test their dogs through lure coursing. However, while it does approximate the athletic vigour and vigour of live coursing for dogs, it does not approximate the sport of coursing live for live dogs. The oldest documented description of hare coursing is the work known in English as On Coursing. It was written by Arrian a Greek historian of the Roman period, circa 180 AD and is known in Ancient Greek as Kynegetikos and in Latin as Cynegeticus. The first modern coursing club was established at Swaffham in 1776 and the National Coursing Club was founded to regulate the sport in 1858.
From 1876 coursing meets were held at Plumpton, East Sussex and this name was used for such events in Australia. In order to indulge in the informal practice, or hunting, various cross breeds have been created; such as the staghounds to hunt coyote in the United States, such as the Lurcher to hunt pasant hunting in the UK. The winner of a coursing event could be the dog that caught the hare; this could be for sport, food and pest control, and is often seen as a problem by the local landowners or poaching or pasant hunters. Clubs affiliated to the Association of Lurcher Clubs have organised informal coursing with the landowner’s permission, and sometimes using a single lurcher rather than a pair of dogs to chase a hares. The most famous quote on the sporting fairness ofCoursing originates from Arrian: “true huntsmen do not take out their hounds to catch the creature, but for a trial of speed and a race, and they are satisfied if the hae manages to find something that will rescue her” The first complete set of English rules, known as the Laws of the Leash, was drawn up in the reign of Elizabeth I reputedly by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, providing for a pursuit of no more than two hounds, a headstart to be given to the hares for a fair run, and for the manner of awarding points on speed and trip.
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This page is based on the article Hare coursing published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 12, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
