Bill to ban fox hunting defeated in the Dáil by 124 votes to 24

The Bill would not have outlawed the shooting of foxes on one’s land to protect livestock

Animal rights groups, conservationists, and rural advocates joined Ruth Coppinger and Paul Murphy outside Leinster House to call for a ban on fox hunting last week. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

A bill that would have seen fox hunting banned in Ireland was defeated in the Dáil on Wednesday night.

The Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2025, which was proposed by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger, would have prohibited the use of dogs to hunt or flush out foxes and prohibit trapping or snaring of the foxes for the purposes of killing them.