Fox hunting bill passes first stage of voting in Dáil
The bill seeking to ban fox hunting in Ireland passed the first stage of voting in the Dáil, by a margin of 113 - 49, yesterday, May 28.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger introduced the bill to amend the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to specify that “fox hunting and related practices are banned and therefore cannot be considered as lawful hunting”.
A bill must pass through five stages in both the Dáil and Seanad before it can be enacted.
The fox hunting bill will now move onto the second stage of the proceedings. This is where the general principles of the bill are debated, and provides TDs the opportunity to discuss what the bill contains, and what might be included in a relevant way.
Deputy Coppinger told the Dáil that Ireland has “become an outlier” as fox hunting is banned in England, Scotland and Wales.
“I believe fox hunting is a cruel and inhumane so-called blood sport. It clearly causes unnecessary suffering.
“Packs of dogs chasing after a fox relentlessly is obviously a very stressful and unnatural situation,” the Dublin West TD said.
Deputy Coppinger said that in 1998 a code of conduct was approved by a minister for fox hunting packs.
However, she said this has “eliminated none of the cruelty that makes fox hunting one of Ireland’s most inhumane activities”.
“Foxes are still dug out of the ground and tracked by trained terriers. Foxes are still chased by packs of dogs, sometimes for hours, and torn apart when caught.
“If a domestic animal were treated in this way, there would be an outcry,” she said.
Independent Ireland TD Michael Collins, and Independent TD, Danny Healy-Rae both opposed the bill.
Deputy Collins said that “foxes are classified as a pest species”, with up to 200,000 of the animals currently in the country.
“We need to have some kind of control, because the next thing we will be in here seeing if we can protect the rat, the mouse, or whatever. Nobody wants to protect the human beings; that is the problem from what I can see here,” he said.
“Foxes pose huge threats to farmers. If Deputy Coppinger had been brought up in a rural area, she would understand that. How many times have I heard down through the years that a fox had broken into a hen yard and destroyed every hen in the yard?
“They are also a threat to our native birds and young lambs. We need to have controls for foxes and hares. We should not be afraid to say that in this house. Independent Ireland will certainly be opposing the bill going forward,” he added.
