Irish animal welfare organisations have rejected the ‘Heather for President’ campaign being conducted by Heather Humphreys in Ireland’s upcoming presidential election campaign.
The 2025 Irish presidential election is due to take place on 24 October 2025. Voters currently have a choice of three candidates, including Heather Humphreys who represents the Fine Gael party. The other candidates are; Jim Gavin, Fianna Fáil and Catherine Connolly, Independent.
The Irish Council Against Bloodsports (ICABS) have highlighted the animal welfare issues record of Ms Humphreys.
In 2013, she voted against an amendment to the Animal Health and Welfare Bill which sought to outlaw hare coursing in Ireland. She also voted against an amendment to the Bill which sought to outlaw fox hunting, terrierwork, digging out, ferreting, badger culling and the use of animals in circus performances.
ICABS said that, as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphrey’s licensed cruel hare coursing despite public appeals to reject this abuse of the Irish hare. This annual licence allows Irish hare coursing clubs to net thousands of hares from the wild and use them as live lures for greyhounds to chase.
In addition, she licensed the cruel snaring and killing of thousands of badgers, a species protected under Irish wildlife legislation, as part of the Department of Agriculture’s failed TB Eradication scheme.
Dáil Voting Record
In Dáil Eireann on 23 June 2016, she recommended that a bill seeking to ban cruel hare coursing be rejected.
In a speech, she claimed that hare coursing is run in a “responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds”. “The Irish Coursing Club has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved in coursing and goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of welfare are adhered to,” she stated. “A monitoring committee on coursing is in place, comprising officials from my Department, the ICC and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard, this situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well-controlled and responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds…I therefore recommend to the House that this Bill be rejected”.
In Dáil Eireann on 30 November 2022, Heather Humphreys TD voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2022 which channelled another €91 million of public funds into the two gambling activities (€72.8 million for Horse Racing Ireland and €18.2 million for Greyhound Racing Ireland).
In December 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021, she voted in favour of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations which granted €80 million / €80 million / €84 million / €88 million to horse and greyhound racing.
Game Fair Attendance
ICABS said that in 2015, three weeks after issuing a hare coursing licence, Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys made her way to Birr Castle in Co. Offaly to attend a game fair which celebrates the killing of Irish wildlife.
The Minister with responsibility for our Wildlife Act was photographed next to hunting representatives at the Birr Game Fair which promotes itself as being of interest to “the most discerning” hunters and shooters. Minister Humphreys was a “VIP Guest” of the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) whose members are responsible for the shooting of tens of thousands of foxes, deer, birds and other creatures.
An ICABS spokesperson said, ‘Minister Humphreys, who has refused to meet groups campaigning against bloodsports, was more than happy to perform the opening ceremony at an event which attracts those who blast wildlife to death, unleash lurchers and terriers to attack and kill foxes, use packs of hounds to terrorise and tear foxes apart and send ferrets underground to catch and injure rabbits.’
Party4Animal Welfare
The Party4Animal Welfare, Ireland’s only registered political party for animals, has also raised concerns about Ms Humphreys views on animal welfare issues. The party is currently trying to gets its founder, Gerben Uunk, onto the presidential ballot paper as a pro-animal candidate.
Both Irish animal welfare organisations are urging their members and supporters to find out the views of the candidates on animal welfare issues and to vote for the person who will be a pro-animal rights/welfare president of Ireland.
The presidential election is due to take place on 24 October 2025.
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https://www.electoralcommission.ie/register-to-vote/
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