Coppinger to introduce bill to ban fox hunting

A fresh push to outlaw fox hunting in Ireland is set to begin this Tuesday (27th) as Ruth Coppinger TD (People Before Profit-Solidarity, Dublin West) brings a new bill before the Dáil aiming to ban the practice outright.

Deputy Coppinger’s Animal Health & Welfare (Ban On Fox Hunting) Bill seeks to remove the long-standing exemption for hunting in the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.

If successful, the bill would mark a landmark shift in Irish animal welfare legislation, making fox hunting, trail hunting, and the snaring or trapping of foxes explicitly illegal.

To coincide with the bill’s introduction, a “Ban Fox Hunting” protest is planned outside the Dáil on Kildare Street at 1pm on Tuesday.

Organisers expect a strong turnout from animal welfare groups and members of the public who have long called for a complete ban.

Currently, Section 12 of the 2013 Act forbids causing unnecessary suffering to animals—but includes a clause that exempts lawful hunting, unless the animal is injured or denied a reasonable chance of escape.

Coppinger’s bill would close this loophole by declaring that “fox hunting and related practices are banned and therefore cannot be considered as lawful hunting.”

The proposed legislation outlines a total ban on:

Hunting foxes with dogs

Using dogs to flush or dig out foxes from underground

Trapping or snaring foxes with the intention to kill

Trail hunting

“Fox hunting is a cruel and inhumane blood sport,” the bill states.

“It causes unnecessary suffering and stress to the fox. Packs of dogs are set upon a single fox, which is then chased and killed.

It’s not unusual for those that escape to be hunted underground with terrier dogs sent in after them.

“This is an archaic, elitist practice. Public opinion is firmly against it.”

Deputy Coppinger also points to the bans already in place across Britain: Scotland banned fox hunting in 2002, followed by England and Wales in 2004.

However, she warns that the loophole of “trail hunting” in Britain has been abused, often resulting in actual foxes being pursued and killed.

“The fox is a beautiful creature and the only wild dog native to Ireland,” Deputy Coppinger said in a recent Instagram video announcing the bill.

“They can live up to ten years, but many don’t survive beyond age two because of threats—including hunting.

“Fox hunting has no benefit to anyone, apart from entertaining a tiny, privileged minority.

“It’s not a traditional pastime.

“It’s time we put pressure on Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the animal-hating cabal of independents propping them up.”

The Dublin West TD previously hinted at this legislative move in February, declaring that the time had come for real protections for foxes.

“This is about basic decency,” she said.

“Fox hunting belongs in the past. Let’s leave it there.”

As the bill makes its way into Dáil Éireann, the spotlight now turns to the government and opposition parties.

Will Ireland finally follow its neighbours in banning fox hunting, or will the debate reignite old divisions between rural tradition and modern animal welfare values?