§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment her Department has made of the effect on the rural economy of illegal hare coursing; [163803]
(2) what plans she has to bring forward legislation to reduce illegal hare coursing. [163805]
§ Alun MichaelHare coursing as such is not illegal at present. 'Illegal hare coursing' takes place when other offences are associated with the activity, the most common offence being that of trespass. Since it is not a defined activity, separate studies of the economic effect of 'illegal hare coursing' would not be appropriate. Nor is further legislation focused on 'illegal hare coursing' likely to reduce its scale. Enforcement requires effective police intelligence and the active support of people living in affected areas to obtain evidence of offences being committed. However, the Government considers all forms of hare coursing to be undesirable because it involves unnecessary suffering. Last session's Hunting Bill would therefore have made all hare coursing events illegal. Evidence of this offence would be easier to obtain and this would help enforcement.