Lobby groups clash over hunting ban

Rival lobby groups battling it out over the future of fox hunting in Ireland have clashed over calls for an outright ban.

The row comes after a major survey found 64% of people support a ban on fox hunting, while 68% condemned it as cruel.

But pro-hunt campaigners have dismissed the poll commissioned by The League Against Cruel Sports.

Researchers asked to test public opinion questioned nearly 1,000 people at 62 locations around Ireland following Britain outlawing the sport.

League spokeswoman Fionna Smyth said the survey found major opposition to fox hunting and argued the Irish people were sending out a clear message in favour of a ban.

“This is a deeply unpopular ’sport’, and it is grotesque that it should be allowed to continue in a civilised society,” she said.

“It simply allows a minority of bloodsports enthusiasts to chase our wildlife for hours until it is exhausted and then ripped to pieces.”

The Millward Brown poll found 68% of people believed fox hunting was cruel, though 15% believed it to be humane.

The survey also found 64% supported a ban on hunting, with 19% saying they believed it should remain legal and 16% undecided.

But Ronan Gorman of Countryside Alliance Ireland which supports hunting, dismissed the findings.

“If it was true that this kind of number of people didn’t support hunting, then the hunt could not take place,” he said.

“A hunt needs the overwhelming support of a local community to go ahead.

“Hunts take place over large areas and they have to have access to large areas of uninterrupted territory.

“Hunting is the sort of activity that physically could not take place if there was this level of opposition.”

Fox hunting is banned in Britain, but is legal in Northern Ireland and in the Republic, where this latest survey was conducted.

Hunt groups in England have nevertheless sought to exploit loop-holes in the law.

The British legislation includes an exemption for hunting with birds of prey and fox hunts have brought birds with them in an attempt to evade the ban.

This has led critics to claim huntsmen are setting out to defy the law.

Mr Gorman argued hunting boosted the economy and helped in pest control in rural areas.

He also denied it was cruel, claiming most foxes escaped the hunt, with sick or diseased animals most likely to be caught.

But Fionna Smyth denied hunting served any practical purpose and highlighted complaints by landowners that hunts had crossed their property without permission.

“It is ineffective predator control and causes significant havoc for many countryside dwellers, who have their livestock distressed and family pets ripped apart,” she said.

“This result shows us what we have known for a long time. The Irish public think hunting is cruel and should be banned.”

The survey follows a separate poll commissioned by the League Against Cruel Sports showed 68% backed a ban on hare coursing.