Ban foxhunting, that was the message from actress Pauline McLynn of Fr Ted fame who was speaking at an anti-foxhunting protest outside the Dáil yesterday.
Rural Ireland Against Fox Hunting (RIAFH) organised the colourful event which drew a large attendance including representatives from anti-hunting organisations animal welfare groups, rural communities and farmers.
A number of protestors dressed up as Suffragettes in Edwardian costumes in a nod to the similar struggle to achieve change in society. Others wore fox masks, and one protester wore a traditional red fox-hunting blazer.
Addressing the crowd at the protest, Ms McLynn said that she, “cannot believe that in the 21st century, we’re still asking for a ban on fox hunting”. She went on to say, ““It just doesn’t make any sense that a very beautiful creature should be chased to within an inch of its life and then torn apart in the most excruciating death in the name of sport or even tradition. “Just because something’s traditional, and the tiny tradition at that, doesn’t mean that it’s any good. There’s no place for it anymore.”
In a nod to a line the Fr Ted comedy show, which first aired in April 1995, she said “Down with this sort of thing, indeed,”
Anti-Foxhuntng Bill
Last December, politicians discussed and voted on ‘The Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025’ which was proposed by Ruth Coppinger, Dublin West TD representing People Before Profit-Solidarity.
The proposed Bill aimed to amend the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which contains an exemption for hunting.
The Bill, if enacted, would add a paragraph to Section 12 to “specify that fox hunting and related practices are banned and therefore cannot be considered as lawful hunting”. Trail hunting and the snaring and trapping of foxes would also be outlawed under this legislation.
Ruth Coppinger who introduced the Bill said that fox hunting is a cruel and inhumane so-called blood sport and it should be outlawed.
A Dáil vote resulted in 124 TDs voting against the Bill and 24 voting for. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Sinn Féin imposed a whip on their TDs.
Ban Foxhunting Campaign Not Over
Anti-hunting organisations reacted to this political setback to their campaign to ban foxhunting with canines by saying the campaign will continue and that politicians must listen to the Irish people who have expressed their opposition to this animal abuse dressed up as tradition.
As Pauline McLynn in her guise as Mrs Doyle in Fr Ted would say, Go on, Go on, Ban Foxhunting, Go On.
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