Editing Hare coursing (section)

==History==
Whether for sporting or hunting purposes, hare coursing was in Europe historically restricted to landowners and the nobility, who used sighthounds, the ownership of which was at certain historic times prohibited among the lower social classes.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVQCAAAAYAAJ&q=greyhounds+forbidden&pg=PA5|title=The greyhound|journal=New Sporting Magazine|volume=4|date=November 1832 – April 1833|access-date=2008-02-21|page=5|publisher=Baldwin & Cradock|archive-date=2021-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020000935/https://books.google.com/books?id=PVQCAAAAYAAJ&q=greyhounds+forbidden&pg=PA5|url-status=live}}</ref>

The oldest documented description of hare coursing is the work known in English as ''On Coursing''. It was written by [[Arrian]] a Greek historian of [[Roman Greece|the Roman period]], circa 180&nbsp;AD and is known in Ancient Greek as ''Kynegetikos'' and in Latin as ''Cynegeticus''. Arrian felt compelled to describe the sight hunt and sighthounds because the [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]] only knew the scent hunt; ''On Coursing'' complements [[Xenophon]]'s classic work on that subject, ''Cynegeticus'' (''On Hunting''). [[William Dansey]], an English clergyman, translated ''On Coursing'' in 1831.

It is from Arrian that the most famous quote on the sporting fairness of coursing originates: "...&nbsp;true huntsmen do not take out their hounds to catch the creature, but for a trial of speed and a race, and they are satisfied if the hare manages to find something that will rescue her".<ref>{{cite book|last=Arrian|first=William Dansey|year=1831|url=https://archive.org/details/arrianoncoursin01arrigoog|quote=arrian on coursing .|title=On coursing|page=[https://archive.org/details/arrianoncoursin01arrigoog/page/n119 108]|publisher=J. Bohn|others=Dansey, William}}</ref><ref name="NCC1"/><ref name="Deerhounds2">{{cite web|url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/deerhounds2.htm |title=Deerhounds Coursing Club, Evidence to Burns Inquiry, Annex 1 |access-date=2008-04-10 |year=2000 |publisher=Defra |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407134917/http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/hunting/inquiry/evidence/deerhounds2.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2009 }}</ref>

===Formal coursing===
[[File:J F Sartorius - Coursing at Hatfield.jpg|thumb|left|''Coursing at Hatfield'', an engraving by [[John Francis Sartorius]], depicts [[Emily Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury]] riding side-saddle.]]

The competitive version of hare coursing was given definitive form<ref>see page 246 Turbervile "A short observation  ... concerning coursing" https://archive.org/details/turbervilesbooke00turb</ref> when the first complete set of English rules, known as the ''Laws of the Leash'', was drawn up in the reign of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] reputedly by [[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk]],<ref name="Martin">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWu6sLJn7-kC|title=Encyclopedia of Traditional British Rural Sports|author=Martin, J.|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-35224-6|pages=78–79}}</ref> providing for a pursuit of no more than two hounds, a headstart termed "Law" to be given to the hare for a fair run, and for the manner of awarding points on "Speed", "Go-bye", "Turn", "Wrench", "Kill" and "Trip", to judge the dogs' performance.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/haremacp00macp|author=Watson, A.|year=1896|title=The Hare|pages=142–164|access-date=2009-04-12|publisher=London; New York : Longmans, Green}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.sympatico.ca/afghaned/origcrse.html|title=Original British Coursing Rules|author=Duke of Norfolk|publisher=Nachtmusik Afghans|access-date=2008-02-11|archive-date=2007-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410154114/http://www3.sympatico.ca/afghaned/origcrse.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first modern coursing club was established at [[Swaffham]] in 1776,<ref name = "Martin"/> and the [[National Coursing Club]] was founded to regulate the sport in 1858.<ref name="NCC1"/><ref name="Holt">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtChCoG6veMC|title=Sport and the British: A Modern History|author=Holt, R.|year=1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=60|isbn=978-0-19-285229-8|access-date=2020-06-05|archive-date=2021-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020000931/https://books.google.com/books?id=vtChCoG6veMC|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1876 coursing meets were held at [[Plumpton, East Sussex]] and this name was used for such events in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143000018/15084863 |title=02 Jun 1877 – COURSING NOTES FROM ENGLAND. – Trove<!-- Bot generated title --> |newspaper=Australasian |date=2 June 1877 |access-date=15 July 2016 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822122544/http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/143000018/15084863 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 19th century, coursing crossed the class divide,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_eBJgwhNL8C|title=Leisure and Recreation in a Victorian Mining Community: The Social Economy|last=Metcalfe|first=Alan|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|access-date=2008-08-06|page=69|isbn=978-0-415-35697-8|archive-date=2021-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020000931/https://books.google.com/books?id=D_eBJgwhNL8C|url-status=live}}</ref> and reached its peak of popularity, with more than 150&nbsp;coursing clubs in Britain,<ref name="Martin"/> some attracting up to 80,000 people.<ref name="NCC1"/> By the late 19th century, hare coursing had become a predominantly [[working class]] sport.<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=Rural History|year=2006|volume=17|issue=2|title=Putting Animals into Politics: The Labour Party and Hunting in the First Half of the Twentieth Century|author=Tichelar, M.|pages=213–234|doi=10.1017/S0956793306001889|s2cid=145439733}}</ref>

Coursing declined during the 20th century, notably due to the development of urban [[greyhound racing]] in the 1920s<ref name="NCC1"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Gambling and Problem Gambling in Britain|access-date=2008-06-21|page=4|author1=Orford, J.|author2=Sproston, K.|author3=Erens, B.|author4=White, C.|author5=Mitchell, L.|publisher=Psychology Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0WOh5Ep4pwC|year=2003|isbn=978-1-58391-923-1|archive-date=2021-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020000945/https://books.google.com/books?id=A0WOh5Ep4pwC|url-status=live}}</ref> and there were fewer than 30 coursing clubs in the UK by 2000.<ref name="NCC1"/>

===Informal coursing===
The oldest form of hare coursing simply involved two dogs chasing a hare, the winner being the dog that caught the hare; this could be for sport, food or [[pest control]]. In order to indulge in the informal practice, or hunting, various cross breeds (under the generic British term [[lurcher]]s) have been created;<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dogshome.org/rehome/choosing_a_pet/which_breed/lurcher.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071123085551/http://www.dogshome.org/rehome/choosing_a_pet/which_breed/lurcher.html|archive-date= 2007-11-23|publisher=Battersea Dogs and Cats Home|title=Guide to lurchers|access-date=2008-02-17}}</ref> such animals may be specifically bred for coursing, such as the staghounds used to hunt coyote in the United States. Informal coursing has long been closely associated with pheasant hunting or [[poaching]],<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Rural History|volume=17|issue=2|year=2006|title=Rural and Urban Poaching in Victorian England|author1=Osborne, H.|author2=Winstanley, M.|pages=187–212|doi=10.1017/S0956793306001877|s2cid=162704842|url=https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/4191/1/win1.pdf|access-date=2020-06-05|archive-date=2020-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923073751/https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/4191/1/win1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> lacking the landowner's permission, and is often seen as a problem by the local public, landowners and the police.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-15218449.html|work=Lincolnshire Echo|title=Crackdown on hare coursing gangs|date=2008-01-30|access-date=2009-08-18}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Clubs affiliated to the Association of Lurcher Clubs organised informal coursing with the landowner's permission, sometimes using a single lurcher rather than a pair to chase a hare.<ref name="Tyler"/>

===Lure coursing===
{{Main|Lure coursing}}
Lure coursing is a sport for dogs based on hare coursing,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asfa.org/coursing.htm|title=The Sport of Lure Coursing|publisher=American Sighthound Field Association|access-date=2008-06-14|archive-date=2008-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509084826/http://www.asfa.org/coursing.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> but involving dogs chasing a mechanically operated lure. Some critics of hare coursing suggest that coursers could test their dogs through lure coursing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.banbloodsports.com/ln-0104b.htm|publisher=Irish Council Against Bloodsports|title=Renewed Call for Humane Alternative to Hare Coursing|date=2004-02-04|access-date=2008-02-18|archive-date=2007-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117055348/http://www.banbloodsports.com/ln-0104b.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> However, coursers believe that, while lure coursing is good athletic exercise for their dogs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lurecoursing.org.uk/lurecoursing/index.html|title=Lure Coursing Explained|publisher=British Sighthound Field Association|year=2008|access-date=2008-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408165548/http://www.lurecoursing.org.uk/lurecoursing/index.html|archive-date=2008-04-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> it does not approximate the testing vigour and sport of live coursing.

===Illegal coursing===
Hare coursing was banned in England and Wales by the [[Hunting Act 2004]].  However, as of 2015 it continues, illegally in counties with large areas of flat farmland suitable for hares: Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, although criminals may travel large distances to course hares. Hare coursing gangs film the chase so that it can be played later, if and when betting occurs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hare-coursing-gangs-terrorising-farmers-with-illicit-underground-competitions-a6783411.html|title=Hare coursing gangs terrorising farmers with illicit underground competitions|date=22 December 2015|newspaper=The Independent|first=Tom|last=Bawden|access-date=31 August 2017|archive-date=4 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804172904/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hare-coursing-gangs-terrorising-farmers-with-illicit-underground-competitions-a6783411.html|url-status=live}}</ref>