The campaign to ban fox hunting in Ireland has received a major boost with the findings of the latest opinion poll.

The ‘Ireland Thinks’ poll, carried out on behalf of the campaign group Uplift, reported that 72% of Irish people want the cruel bloodsport banned, 17% are against a ban, while 11% of respondents were not sure.

The opinion poll also revealed the 69% of people in Munster want fox hunting banned while in contrast 15% of people in Leinster supported fox hunting.

Ireland Thinks carried out the poll across a sampling of 1,000 people last month. It asked people their views of organised fox hunting that hunt and kill foxes. The polling results hold a margin of error of 3.1%.

Public opposition to fox hunting with hounds has seen movement in the political arena.

Dáil Debate
The Dáil will hold a second stage debate on a fox hunting bill on the 17th of December.

The Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025 aims 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 TD, People Before Profit–Solidarity who introduced the Bill in May of this year, said that fox hunting is a cruel and inhumane blood sport and it should be outlawed.

Responding to the latest opinion poll she said, ‘Today’s Ireland Thinks poll is a massive blow to the credibility of those opposing the ban on fox hunting. There is overwhelming opposition to fox hunting across all demographics, regions, ages, and genders.

‘81 per cent of people support a ban on fox hunting when Don’t Knows are excluded.’

Campaign to Ban Fox Hunting
Animal welfare groups have welcomed the poll findings saying it shows once again the opposition to fox hunting in Ireland remains as high as ever. The campaign to ban fox hunting will step up as it is evident that Irish people want the fox killing to stop.

They are urging their supporters and those who do not wish to see Irish wildlife abused for sport to contact their local TDs and urge them to support the upcoming anti-foxhunting bill as it represents an important legislative step in the long campaign to finally remove this cruel activity from the Irish countryside.

Get in Touch
If you have a tip for an animal welfare issue, an animal news article, a press release, or just want to just reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you. John Tierney, Animal News Ireland/Editor

Support Animal Journalism
Animal News Ireland (ANI) is an independent news site reporting on animal-related stories from around Ireland.  Please support our work to be the voice of sentient creatures.