Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with Greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight and not by scent. It is a competitive sport, in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a number of variations in its rules around the world. Informal coursing can be a true form of hunting. It is often conducted to kill game or vermin, mainly for food, and occasionally as a form of gambling. Coursing is a long established and almost universal hunting technique, practiced historically with Greyhounds, other sighthound breeds, or with lurchers which are crossbred sighthounds, and working breeds. The sport grew in popularity in the UK and Europe during the 19th century, but has since experienced a decline due in part to the introduction of Greyhound racing and betting. In recent decades some controversy has developed around hare coursing in the UK and USA, with some viewing it as a cruel bloodsport and others seeing it as a traditional activity that assists in the conservation of hares and tests the ability of sighthounds. Since 2002, hare coursing has been banned in Great Britain but continues elsewhere in the world as a regulated and judged, competitive sport, especially in the Republic of Ireland and Spain, as well as in Russia and the Western United States. Elsewhere, in Eurasia for example, coursing continues as a classic form of hunting.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_coursing

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1882:

Jesse James, an outlaw in the American Old West, was shot in the back and killed for a bounty of US$5,000. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_James

1895:

The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde began, eventually resulting in Wilde's arrest, trial and imprisonment on charges of homosexuality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Wilde

1948:

The Marshall Plan , an economic recovery program established by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall to assist the post-World War II re-building of Europe, was signed into law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan

1973:

On a New York City street, Motorola researcher Martin Cooper made the first public call on a handheld mobile phone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Cooper_%28inventor%29

1996:

A U.S. Air Force CT-43 crashed into a mountainside while attempting an instrument approach to Dubrovnik Airport in Dubrovnik, Croatia, killing U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and all the other 34 people on board. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Croatia_USAF_CT-43_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

coalesce (v): 1. (of separate parts) To join into a single mass or whole.

2. (of a whole) To form from different pieces or elements http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coalesce

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Stretch or contract me, Thy poor debtor;

This is but tuning of my breast, To make the music better.

Whether I fly with angels, fall with dust,

Thy hands made both, and I am there; Thy power and love, my love and trust

Make one place ev'rywhere. --George Herbert http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Herbert