Stormont fox-hunting ban a 'fundamental attack on rural life' as restrictions on gundogs confirmed
A proposal to ban fox hunting could have huge ramifications for shooting in Northern Ireland, with the Countryside Alliance warning it represents a “fundamental restriction” on the activity and could leave people involved in the sport at risk of prosecution.
The draft legislation proposes a ban on the use of gundogs to flush out and shoot wild mammals unless specific criteria are met, leading to fears hunting for food or sport would be effectively outlawed.
Alliance MLA John Blair has brought his proposals back to Stormont after they were rejected in 2021 – but concerns have been raised that the law would be much more far-reaching than hunting foxes with hounds.
Last year, the News Letter reported that Blair had initially said the laws are not only aimed at fox hunts, but also deer hunting and “other forms of hunting where dogs are used to flush or kill rabbits”. Mr Blair later said that is not his intent – and the law is primarily about fox hunting with dogs.
However, the detail of the plans has now been published, sparking concern among those involved in other field sports like shooting that it will, indeed, have implications far beyond banning fox hunts.
It would ban hunting wild mammals with dogs and trail hunting, as well as “terrier work”. There are exemptions for management of wild animals using dogs above ground - providing no more than two dogs are involved.
However, the exemptions relate purely to preventing damage to crops or livestock; preventing the spread of disease; preserving human health or preventing serious damage to the biological diversity of an area.
Under the Hunting with Dogs Bill, it would therefore apparently be illegal to use dogs to search for, stalk or flush from cover a wild mammal for the purposes of sport or food - or to search for and retrieve a wild mammal for those purposes. Use of more than two dogs would be considered a pack and therefore illegal.
Gary McCartney, Countryside Alliance Director for Northern Ireland says the bill is not fit for purpose, and “represents a fundamental attack on the rural way of life”.
He told the News Letter: “The bill threatens a wide range of rural activities involving dogs, including shooting. The bill makes it an offence to ‘participate’ in hunting which includes participation in ‘another activity’, other than hunting (such as shooting) in the course of which a dog hunts a wild mammal.
“Hunting is defined as including searching and therefore an offence can be committed, even where no wild mammal is found or even pursued.
“Clearly the impact on shooting will be severe, given any land used for shooting will contain a variety of wild mammals, and therefore the likelihood of hunting offences being committed during a shoot is extremely high.
“The exemption for flushing to guns using two dogs above ground cannot be used for food or sporting purposes and it would therefore be unlawful to use a dog to find a rabbit to shoot for the pot. It would also be unlawful to rely on the exemption to protect gamebirds, and it is far from clear where the bill leaves deer stalking, especially recreational stalking for food.
“Shooting will also be affected by the proposed ban on the ability to use terriers below ground to control foxes which is essential to protect game and other wildlife. The bill would be a fundamental restriction on shooting, render much current shooting practice unlawful and leave shooters, and others using dogs in the countryside, at risk of prosecution.
“Politicians should be very wary of supporting this ill-thought-through and virtue-signalling legislation, that would have a devastating effect on the 53,000 firearms holders and thousands more rural people and their way of life, all while doing nothing for animal welfare”.
Speaking to the News Letter in December, John Blair said the provisions about dogs in the (then unpublished) legislation were an attempt to remove loopholes used by fox hunts.
Asked how the law could differentiate between dogs chasing wild mammals in the context of a hunt, or flushing wild mammals out for shooting – Mr Blair said it was down to the “responsible person” on the scene, and their behaviour.
“I don’t think most gundog hunters use more than two dogs. So ‘not more than two dogs’ might be the defining issue here. I need to be really careful that ‘two or three’ becomes ‘four or five’. And ‘four or five’ becomes ‘five or six’. If it’s not a pack of dogs, you’re closing a loophole there”, he said previously.
Mr Blair has been contacted for comment.