Coursing is the pursuit of
gameGame is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
or other animals by
dogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
s —chiefly
GreyhoundThe greyhound is a breed of hunting dog that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, but with a recent resurgence of popularity increasingly as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a soft and intelligent breed that often becomes attached to its owners...
s and other
sighthoundSighthounds, also called gazehounds, are hounds that primarily hunt by speed and sight, instead of by scent and endurance as scent hounds do.-Appearance:...
s— catching the prey by speed, running by sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practiced both by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, as well as commoners with sighthounds and
LurcherThe lurcher is a type of dog. Not a pure breed, it is a hardy, crossbred sighthound, generally a cross between a sighthound and any other breed, usually a pastoral dog or terrier. Collie crosses have always been very popular...
s. In its oldest recorded form in the
Western worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
, as described by
ArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian , a public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the Roman period...
the sport was practiced by all levels of society, as remained the case until Carolingian
hunting lawGame laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and take or kill certain kinds of fish and wild animal . Their scope can include the following: restricting the days to harvest fish or game, restricting the number of animals per person, restricting species harvested, and limiting weapons...
(Forest Law) appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility and other land owners.
Animals coursed include
hareHares and jackrabbits are leporidaes belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets.Hares are very fast-moving...
s,
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
s,
foxFox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail ....
es,
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
of all sorts,
antelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species found in the family Bovidae. The term does not refer to a monophyletic group, as not all members of Bovidae are considered antelope. Instead, the term refers to a ‘miscellaneous’ group within the family encompassing the species which...
,
gazelleA gazelle is any of many antelope species currently or formerly in the genus Gazella. Six species are included in two genera which were formerly considered subgenera...
,
jackalThe jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe...
s, wolves.
Coursing is the pursuit of
gameGame is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
or other animals by
dogThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
s —chiefly
GreyhoundThe greyhound is a breed of hunting dog that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, but with a recent resurgence of popularity increasingly as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a soft and intelligent breed that often becomes attached to its owners...
s and other
sighthoundSighthounds, also called gazehounds, are hounds that primarily hunt by speed and sight, instead of by scent and endurance as scent hounds do.-Appearance:...
s— catching the prey by speed, running by sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practiced both by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, as well as commoners with sighthounds and
LurcherThe lurcher is a type of dog. Not a pure breed, it is a hardy, crossbred sighthound, generally a cross between a sighthound and any other breed, usually a pastoral dog or terrier. Collie crosses have always been very popular...
s. In its oldest recorded form in the
Western worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term that can have multiple meanings depending on its context...
, as described by
ArrianLucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian , a public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the Roman period...
the sport was practiced by all levels of society, as remained the case until Carolingian
hunting lawGame laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and take or kill certain kinds of fish and wild animal . Their scope can include the following: restricting the days to harvest fish or game, restricting the number of animals per person, restricting species harvested, and limiting weapons...
(Forest Law) appropriated hunting grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility and other land owners.
Animals coursed include
hareHares and jackrabbits are leporidaes belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets.Hares are very fast-moving...
s,
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , Cottontail rabbit , and the Amami rabbit...
s,
foxFox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail ....
es,
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
of all sorts,
antelopeAntelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species found in the family Bovidae. The term does not refer to a monophyletic group, as not all members of Bovidae are considered antelope. Instead, the term refers to a ‘miscellaneous’ group within the family encompassing the species which...
,
gazelleA gazelle is any of many antelope species currently or formerly in the genus Gazella. Six species are included in two genera which were formerly considered subgenera...
,
jackalThe jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe...
s, wolves.
JackrabbitHares and jackrabbits are leporidaes belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets.Hares are very fast-moving...
s and
coyoteThe coyote , the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canid found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s are the most common animals coursed in
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Competitive coursing in Ireland, the UK and Spain has two dogs running together. In America, generally speaking three dogs are run together.
The
Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) ActThe Protection of Wild Mammals Act was passed by the devolved Scottish parliament in February 2002, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to ban traditional fox hunting and hare coursing.-Passage of the Act:...
and the
Hunting Act 2004The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...
(in
England and WalesEngland and Wales is a legal unit within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, England and Wales follow the legal system known as English law, and the two form the constitutional successor to the...
) made it illegal to course any type of mammal, with the exlcusion of rabbits & rats. Dogs are still permitted to chase (flush) game into the path of a waiting gun, as long as the maximum amount of dogs used is no greater than two. In Australia coursing is illegal under
common lawCommon law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....
. In some countries such as Ireland, Poland, Spain, Russia and in parts of the USA coursing hare is legal.