The recent overwhelming defeat of the bill to ban the more particularly abhorrent forms of fox hunting was a real blow, to me, and to many others. A recent Ireland Thinks poll found that 72% of people believe fox hunting as a sport should be banned in Ireland. A 1998 UCD report concluded that mounted fox hunting contributed €80 million to the Irish economy. So, as someone who loves nature, and as someone who needs a place to live, the defeat of this fox hunting bill was a blow too many. Hunt alternatives: A pack of fox hounds and huntsmen on horseback cross the water of lake Chiemsee near Breitbrunn, southern Germany, during an annual hunt of the Bavarian fox hunt association.

Source: Irish Examiner December 26, 2025 14:59 UTC