Letter: Foxhunting with hounds is an inherently cruel practice and has no place in the 21st century - Stormont MLAs should remember this
A letter from John Fitzgerald:
As a debate on proposed anti-hunting legislation in Northern Ireland looms, footage circulating on social media shows hunt hounds attacking and killing a cat near Newry.
This should serve as another reminder that foxhunting with hounds is an inherently cruel practice, apart from being a woefully ineffective and unreliable method of pest control.
Later this month, MLAs will have an opportunity to kick this practice back into the Dark Ages, where it rightfully belongs.
Though what happened to the unfortunate cat was disturbing, we should remember that a fox feels pain in the same way as any sentient being, and is no less deserving of protection than domestic or farm animals.
In 2011, the Northern Ireland Assembly outlawed hare coursing. Now it can now strike another blow for wildlife.
Foxhunting is fine in old paintings and table mat designs, but it should have no place in the countryside of the 21st century.
John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny