On 17 December 2025, the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill, proposed by Deputy Ruth Coppinger, will come before the Dáil for debate. The Bill seeks to outlaw one of Ireland’s oldest and most deeply rooted rural activities, fox hunting, under the guise of animal welfare.
For Countryside Alliance Ireland and the thousands of people who live, work, and sustain Ireland’s countryside, this Bill represents not progress, but a direct attack on our rural culture, way of life, and livelihoods.
Contrary to the urban narrative being pushed, fox hunting is not a cruel pastime but a highly regulated, community-based tradition that plays an important role in rural Ireland. It brings together farmers, landowners, horse breeders, and volunteers in a social and economic network that supports local economies, animal management, and rural employment.
For centuries, hunting has also served as an effective method of fox population control, helping to reduce predation on lambs and ground-nesting birds, and limiting disease spread. Removing this management tool will do nothing for animal welfare, it will merely shift the burden of control to possibly less humane methods, such as gassing or illegal poisoning.
It is disappointing, though not surprising, that this Bill is being championed by urban-based politicians who have little experience of rural realities. Fox hunting has become an easy target for ideological campaigns and social media outrage, yet the people most affected, rural families and communities, are rarely listened to.
Rural Ireland does not condone cruelty. The hunting community abides by a strict code of conduct and operates within existing animal health and welfare laws. The deliberate mischaracterisation of hunters as cruel or bloodthirsty is unfair, inaccurate, and deeply insulting to those who dedicate their lives to the land and to animal welfare.
Deputy Ruth Coppinger and her People Before Profit colleagues have made clear their opposition to hunting of any kind, portraying it as a relic of privilege. The Green Party, unsurprisingly, supports the Bill, though its stance ignores the practical consequences for wildlife management and the agricultural sector. Odd too that the Greens oppose an activity that is selective and emulates the natural hunting process, preferring instead the more man-made methods of wildlife management.
If this Bill passes, it won’t stop with fox hunting. It will embolden anti-rural activists to push for bans on other legitimate countryside activities, shooting, fishing, coursing, and farming practices that have been part of Ireland’s heritage for generations.
This is not just about fox hunting, it is about defending rural life against continued erosion by those who neither understand nor respect it.
We urge Countryside Alliance members and supporters to take immediate action:
• Contact your local TDs today. Politely but firmly ask where they stand on the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025.
• Request that they oppose the Bill.
• Write letters, attend constituency clinics, and make your voice heard.
Here’s a sample message you can adapt - but keep it short:
Subject: Opposition to the Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025
Dear Deputy,
I am writing as a constituent and supporter of rural Ireland to express my strong opposition to the proposed Bill banning fox hunting. Hunting is part of our heritage, our community, and an essential means of wildlife management.
I urge you to oppose this Bill and to ensure that rural voices are heard and respected in the Dáil debate.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
Find your TD's email address here.
Image: Bernard Hand Photography