It is vital that everyone who supports hunting, wildlife management and the countryside contacts their MLA and sends a clear message that they oppose the latest move to ban hunting in Northern Ireland.

John Blair MLA has launched another public consultation on banning hunting with dogs. The consultation is anything but fair and open. It signals yet another prejudiced attack on rural people and the Countryside Alliance needs your support to fight for our way of life.  

Please contact your MLA to highlight the serious concerns about the consultation process and your opposition to any ban.  Even if you completed our e-lobby for previous campaigns we need you to do so again.

The public consultation is misleading, provides no evidence to support banning hunting with dogs, and since going live has even been amended without any notice. It is evident that Mr Blair is not interested in the evidence and a genuine consultation based on that evidence, but that this is a tick box exercise designed for a predetermined outcome.  

While Mr Blair has not actually published a bill, we can reasonably suppose that it will be similar to last time given this latest consultation/survey is almost identical to the last one. That Bill could have criminalised every dog owner in Northern Ireland. This could happen again. 

Together we can fight this attack on the vital use of working dogs in Northern Ireland and protect all dog owners, farmers’ livelihoods and our most vulnerable wildlife.