John Blair ignores DAERA pressures to advance his hunting bill

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is under unprecedented strain. Faced with chronic staff shortages, flat or declining budgets and expanding statutory responsibilities, the department is struggling to meet its core obligations. Against this backdrop, it is deeply concerning that proposals such as John Blair MLA’s Hunting With Dogs Bill are being advanced, despite a clear lack of capacity, scrutiny, and supporting evidence.

DAERA’s own Minister Andrew Muir gave evidence to the Assembly’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, making the situation clear: officials are operating under severe pressure, difficult prioritisation decisions are unavoidable, and new legislative burdens cannot be accommodated without detracting from essential services. In these circumstances, progressing a complex and contentious Private Member’s Bill is neither practical nor responsible.

DAERA’s remit spans agriculture, animal health and welfare, environmental regulation, rural development and climate responsibilities. Committee evidence has repeatedly highlighted that the department is carrying significant staff vacancies, particularly in specialist policy, veterinary and legal roles. Recruitment and retention difficulties have compounded the loss of experienced staff, leaving teams overstretched.

Current DAERA challenges are extensive and include: bovine TB, avian flu, Asian hornets, farm genetics, net zero targets, capital support, horticulture, farming with nature, animal welfare (including Lucy’s Law and the regulation of shock collars), dog breeding, dog licensing, microchipping, climate change, Lough Neagh management, establishing an independent environmental governance body, the Fisheries and Water Quality Bill, the Dilapidation Bill, the Tree Action Plan, the Windsor Framework, veterinary medicines and more. The list simply goes on and on.

At the same time, DAERA’s funding has failed to keep pace with inflation or rising workloads. In real terms, resources are diminishing while expectations grow. Officials have been clear that this severely limits their capacity to undertake additional policy development, impact assessments, or implementation planning.

A ban on hunting with dogs would require extensive preparatory work, including drafting detailed regulations, establishing enforcement mechanisms, providing guidance and training, and coordinating with policing and judicial bodies. DAERA currently lacks both the staffing, with over 800 positions remaining vacant, and the financial capacity to implement this safely or effectively. Officials also believe there will be no additional funding, meaning they would have to “rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Robust scrutiny is essential to good lawmaking. However, Assembly committees themselves face resource and time constraints, limiting their ability to examine complex legislation in depth. DAERA has acknowledged the difficulty of supporting committees with detailed analysis and evidence under current pressures.

Private Members’ Bills place an even greater burden on the system, as they do not benefit from the extensive groundwork that accompanies Executive legislation. Without sufficient scrutiny, there is a real risk of unintended consequences, legal uncertainty, and poor policy outcomes. A clear example is the Alliance Party’s Justice Minister Naomi Long’s introduction of the Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims (Northern Ireland) Act 2022, which was struck down by the High Court in Belfast for being incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (freedom of expression). This occurred in the context of crimes that have doubled over the past decade.

Shortcomings of the bill

The Hunting With Dogs Bill has far-reaching implications for rural communities, land management, wildlife control and animal welfare. These are not issues that can or should be considered without full and careful examination.

One of the most significant shortcomings of the current proposal is the absence of a robust, Northern Ireland–specific evidence base. Committee discussions have shown that DAERA has not been able to provide comprehensive analysis of enforcement feasibility, costs, rural economic impacts, or animal welfare outcomes – not through lack of willingness, but through lack of capacity.
Legislators are effectively being asked to consider major changes to rural law and practice without clear data, operational modelling, or risk assessment. This is not how sound legislation should be developed.

Hunting with dogs has long been a cross-community rural activity in Northern Ireland, bringing together people from different backgrounds through shared traditions, land stewardship and countryside management. It is one of the few rural pursuits that has historically existed outside political and sectarian divisions.

John Blair’s bill risks introducing unnecessary division into an area of rural life that has not been defined by community background or political identity. At a time when Northern Ireland’s institutions should be seeking to build cohesion and mutual understanding, advancing legislation that polarises rural communities is deeply unhelpful.

Lawmakers must consider not only the legal and operational implications of legislation, but also its social impact. This bill threatens to fracture a long-standing, shared rural culture without sufficient justification or consensus.

The need for an independent review of other jurisdictions

Crucially, any future legislation on hunting in Northern Ireland must be informed by a full, independent review of hunting legislation in other nations, including England, Wales, Scotland, and relevant international examples. Such a review should examine:

• Whether stated policy objectives were achieved
• Impacts on animal welfare and wildlife management
• Enforcement challenges and policing costs
• Unintended consequences, including illegal activity
• Effects on rural communities and land management practices

To date, no such independent assessment has been undertaken as part of this legislative proposal. Proceeding without learning from the real-world outcomes elsewhere risks repeating mistakes and embedding flawed policy in Northern Ireland law.

Independent, evidence-led review must come before legislation, not after.

Rural priorities must come first

At a time when farmers and rural communities are dealing with post-Brexit change, rising costs, and regulatory uncertainty, DAERA’s limited resources must remain focused on delivering essential services and stability.

Diverting scarce departmental and scrutiny capacity towards an ideological bill that lacks evidence, operational clarity, and comparative analysis risks undermining those priorities. Rural policy must be grounded in practicality, not pressure.

The challenges facing DAERA are well documented and deeply concerning. Staff shortages, stagnant funding, limited scrutiny capacity, a lack of evidence, and the absence of an independent review of legislation in other jurisdictions together form a compelling case against progressing John Blair’s Hunting With Dogs Bill at this time.

Until DAERA is properly resourced, scrutiny mechanisms are strengthened, and a full independent review of hunting legislation elsewhere is completed, this bill must not be allowed to move forward. Rural communities deserve legislation that is measured, evidence-based, and fit for purpose.