International News Winter 2000-01

Newmarket, England:
One of the largest hare-coursing events to be staged in Britain in more than 100 years took place December 10-15 at undisclosed sites near the city of Newmarket in Suffolk County. Greyhound 2000 was organized and promoted by Sir Mark Prescott as a “Millen-nium Celebration.”
Steve Rackett of the League Against Cruel Sports said, “I can’t think of a sicker way of celebrating the Millennium than watching a hare get caught in a tug of war between two greyhounds.” League member David Ward coordinated a protest demonstration in Newmarket on the first day of the five-day event. Police, who were on hand at the request of Prescott, arrested three people on suspicion of committing public order offenses. Ward said the protests would continue throughout the event.
“Hare-coursing is one of the worst forms of hunting as hares are not pests. It is just killing for fun and enjoyment.” Ward said. “Organizers say the point is not to kill the hare but that is simply not true. When a hare is caught and ripped apart by the dogs you cannot hear its screams over the cheers of the crowd.” Coursing enthusiasts argue that the hares don’t suffer pain because they die instantly.
The event drew 128 greyhound entries, including 16 dogs from Ireland and three from Portugal. The “sport” involves chasing the hares for miles before a pair of greyhounds are released.
Kevin Hill, an animal rights investigator for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, described the hunt: “To achieve the large number of hares needed for an event of this size the beaters have to start driving them in from miles out. By the time the animal reaches the course it can have covered up to five miles.” By then, Hill said, the hare “has desperately crisscrossed the ground trying to find a way past whistling, shouting and flag-waving beaters. Hares are very timid creatures and they are now both terrified and exhausted. We saw one hare drop dead from fright before the dogs even reached it.”
Prescott said, “Animal rights activists have a right to protest but we want as many other people as possible to come and watch to see what exactly happens. The more that come the better.” The estates used during the event were not disclosed until the morning of each coursing spectacle.
Supporters of hare-coursing say the sport is necessary to test the greyhounds’ working ability and keep the breed pure. A spokeswoman for the Countryside Alliance, an umbrella group which promotes field sports, defended hare-coursing, saying, “Hares are classed as a common agricultural pest and shot for pest control.” She added that demonstrators would be outnumbered by supporters of the event.
Greyhound 2000 took place within days of the government’s announced intention to introduce a bill that would ban hunting with dogs. “We are confident that as a result of this bill hunting [with dogs] will be banned, so it seems strange to hold an event like this at a time when field sports are coming under such pressure,” Ward said.
An unidentified spokesman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare said, “They know that they’re in their last throes in this kind of blood sport . . . it’s their last hurrah.” He added, “It’s a gross obscenity in this day and age. It’s hard to believe that people still think it amusing to watch hares ripped to pieces by dogs.”
Greyhound 2000 was condemned as “barbaric” by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals described the event as a final act of defiance by supporters of blood sports. A number of celebrities, including actress Jenny Sea-grove, also condemned the event. “Hare-coursing has no place in the modern world and the vast majority of the British public want it banned,” Seagrove said.
Prescott acknowledged that Parliament could soon ban the sport, but he remained optimistic. “We’ve been in the last chance saloon for a very long time. It has survived four inquiries in 40 years and each time hare-coursing has emerged triumphant.”
More than 5,000 spectators attended the coursing event. Twenty-nine hares were killed in the first 100 courses.

Sources: The (London) Times: Valerie Elliott
The People: Katy Weitz
Press Association Newsfile: Brian Farmer
Sunday Mirror: Stephen Hayward