UUP's Tom Elliott says fox hunting ban may not be the 'best option' - after party said yesterday it supported a ban
Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has urged caution about any bill to ban fox hunting – saying a ban may not be the right option.
Yesterday, a party spokesperson told the News Letter that it “would most likely support” a ban as it did in 2021.
However, Mr Elliott – the party’s rural affairs spokesperson – has told the News Letter that “any future legislation on attempts to ban fox hunting would require careful consideration regarding a number of aspects before any level of support could be offered to such legislation.
“Many within the rural community would see attempts to ban fox hunting as an attack on historical rural way of life and just a foot in the door to try to ban other aspects of country pursuits.
“It is interesting that in many parts of Great Britain when fox hunting was banned in 2004 the number of foxes have plummeted, in some cases to almost extinction, so the legislation didn’t accomplish what it may have expected to do.
“There may be some aspects of hunts that require amendments, but an outright ban might not be the best option. Foxes are predators that kill farm animals and wildlife, therefore we need to ensure that they are managed in an appropriate manner”.
Meanwhile, the Countryside Alliance say that the debate over hunting with dogs isn’t a priority for any returning Assembly. The rural lobby group – which supports hunting remaining legal in Northern Ireland – was reacting to a pledge by an Alliance MLA to reopen the issue after a ban was defeated at Stormont in 2021.
Gary McCartney, director of Countryside Alliance Ireland told the News Letter “The people of Northern Ireland continue to face many challenges with no functioning local government. Any new Executive will have a huge workload to get through… and with the limited time left in this mandate it is absolutely staggering that some politicians are set on wanting to waste time pursuing further debate on an issue which most people understandably believe has already been settled.
However, the Alliance MLA behind the bill John Blair said Alliance has a full list of manifesto commitments to pursue in a restored Assembly, including “dealing robustly with animal welfare and animal cruelty issues”.