Meath councillor calls for ban on ‘barbaric' fox hunting
Councillor Alan Lawes, who travelled to the Dáil this week to support a bill that would outlaw fox hunting in Ireland, said public opinion is shifting — even in areas where the tradition was once accepted.
'No tradition should involve causing pain and suffering to an animal,' he said.
The bill, introduced by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger, seeks to amend the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 to state explicitly that 'fox hunting and related practices are banned and therefore cannot be considered as lawful hunting.'
Mr Lawes added: 'It's a cruel and barbaric practice; it's a left-over from colonial times and now most people don't want to see fox hunting continue. We want it banned.'
'England has had the ban in for a couple of years and we need to do the same. This practice has no place in the 21st century.'
He also confirmed plans to propose a local motion, following the example of Fingal County Council, which recently adopted a measure prohibiting hunting on council-owned land.
'There was a motion passed in Fingal to ban hunting on council land, and I'll be bringing a similar motion before Meath County Council,' he said.
A Red C poll found that 77pc of the population wants fox hunting banned, including 74pc in rural areas. The Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Navan district added that not everybody in the farming or rural community supports fox hunting.
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