The Coalition must give its TDs a free vote on this evening’s bill which would ban hare coursing, according to Social Democrats agriculture spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore.
Deputy Whitmore said:
“I’m calling on the Government to give a free vote to their TDs when it comes to voting on the Hare Coursing Bill, which will be debated tonight in the Dáil.
“It is not ok to force TDs to vote a particular way on matters relating to animal cruelty. Votes of this nature are incredibly difficult for backbenchers to navigate, who are often forced to betray their own strongly-held beliefs to tow the party line.
“Tánaiste Simon Harris recently said that he believes there’s a strong case for more opportunities for TDs to actually be allowed outside of the whip system, given their views on very sensitive and conscience issues.
“The Tánaiste must now prove that he wasn’t simply posturing and allow Fine Gael TDs to express their own beliefs, not just the opinion of the party, when it comes to tonight’s debate and vote.
“Given the scale of the biodiversity crisis we are facing – and the unprecedented loss of animal species and plants – the role of any Government should be to protect the native wildlife that we have.
“Hares are very important from both an environmental and cultural perspective in Ireland. Significantly, their importance is recognised in primary legislation by defining them as a protected species under the Wildlife Act 1976.
“A protected species should be just that – protected. It is shocking to think that thousands of hares are captured from the wild each year under Government licence and can be held in captivity for up to eight weeks.
“Coursing pits animal against animal and causes great distress – and sometimes injury or death – to the hares involved.
“I am calling on the Government to give a free vote to their TDs on the Hare Coursing Bill, and TDs from all parties and none to support the Bill. Bringing an end to hare coursing would be a huge step forward for both animal welfare and biodiversity in Ireland.”
July 2nd, 2026