Irish greyhound breeding seems to have leveled out following following a prolonged period of decline.
The latest figures produced by the Irish Coursing Club reveal that by the end of October, there were 2,092 litters registered compared to 2,097 for the same period in 2018. Matings are actually slightly up to 2,518 compared to 2,505 despite *concerns over the RHD2 virus in wild rabbits and hares.
It is the first sign of breeding figures stablising after decades of contraction. The year end total for 2018 was 2,344, which compares with 3,272 litters back in 2011. Five years before that, the ICC registered 4,481 litters.
*The first meetings of the new coursing season took place at the weekend despite restrictions on certain areas and plans remain in place for the National Coursing meeting to take place at Powerstown Park between February 14-16. To make up for the cancellation of a number of meetings, double meetings will be held at other clubs to enable the 64 Oaks and Derby qualifiers to take place.
