English fox hunters ‘not welcome here’

ENGLISH fox hunters will not be welcome in large numbers in Ireland, following the House of Commons ban introduced last week.

Hunting groups here fear that allowing British hunters on Irish land would be the death of native fox hunting.

“If we started letting British hunters take part, hunting would stop overnight here because Irish farmers would not tolerate it,” said Kate Horgan, chairperson of the Irish Master of Fox-Hounds Association (IMFA). “We are sympathetic over what has happened in Britain, but Irish hunting is for the Irish and we want to keep it that way.”