Hare coursing — using greyhounds to chase and catch hares — is banned in the UK and Ireland but persists illegally, causing acute terror and injury to wild hares and associated hound welfare concerns.
A hare pursued by coursing greyhounds experiences maximum predator-flight stress — one of the most acute welfare events possible for a prey animal. Hares that are caught die from injuries; those that escape may still die from the physiological consequences of maximum exertion. The terror and physical harm in coursing events is not incidental — the contest depends on the hare's fear response. The welfare case for maintaining coursing bans is straightforward, and the case for improved enforcement even clearer.