Hare coursing — setting dogs on hares — was banned in England in 2004 but persists as an organised criminal activity. The welfare harms to brown hares are severe and well-documented.
Hare coursing inflicts severe welfare harm on individual hares. The chase itself causes acute fear and extreme physiological stress — hares are driven to exhaustion before dogs make contact. Dogs that catch hares typically kill them through violent biting and shaking — a prolonged, painful death. Hares that escape the dog contact may die over subsequent hours from internal injuries sustained in the chase. As a social and gambling event, hare coursing is organised around maximising the duration of the chase — the welfare harm is intentional and extended rather than incidental. Enforcement is hampered by rapid departure of participants and difficulty proving coursing versus legal dog exercise.