BREAKING NEWS: “We will vote in favour of a ban”: Sinn Fein announces that it is “opposed to foxhunting”.
Sinn Fein has announced that it is in favour of a ban on cruel fox hunting and will give its backing to future legislation to outlaw it.
Responding to correspondence from the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, party president Mary Lou McDonald TD today stated: “Sinn Fein is opposed to foxhunting and we will vote in favour of a ban at the next opportunity.”
ICABS welcomes this announcement and is renewing an appeal to the party to also support a ban on cruel hare coursing.
Deputy McDonald outlined that the party is not currently in favour of a ban on the bloodsport which involves snatching thousands of hares from the wild, holding them in captivity and using them as live lures for dogs to chase.
ICABS has brought to her attention the results of a recent RED C opinion poll which shows that a 77 per cent majority of Irish citizens want coursing banned, with a mere 9 per cent disagreeing with a ban.
A petition urging Sinn Fein to back a coursing ban has been signed by over 66,000 people - https://www.change.org/p/sinn-fein-support-a-ban-on-cruel-hare-coursing
“Sinn Féin are currently developing a comprehensive policy on animal welfare, through consultation with our members and all stakeholders working and volunteering in this area,” Deputy McDonald revealed. “This work commenced before the election was called and will continue thereafter.”
In relation to greyhound racing, she commented that “Sinn Féin was extremely concerned by recent reports and investigations that exposed animal cruelty and the illegal doping of dogs in the greyhound industry and we believe that action needs to be taken to root these practices out of the industry.”
She said that the party is “not opposed to funding for the industry in principle especially given its importance to rural Ireland”. Regardless, Sinn Fein TDs have voted against €65 million in state grants to greyhound racing in the past four years and against €262 million in funding for horse racing.
Sinn Fein's statement in support of a ban on foxhunting follows a similar announcement in 2018, when the party confirmed that it would support legislation aiming to ban fur farming in Ireland. Responding to an appeal from ICABS at the time, Mary Lou McDonald stated: "After consultation with our Policy Department, I can confirm that Sinn Féin passed a motion at an Ard Fheis a number of years ago to ban mink farming. I am therefore happy to confirm that we will be in a position to support the legislation when it is introduced at second stage."
Last week, the Irish Mirror reported that Sinn Fein was preparing to present a motion at Belfast City Hall declaring that the “display of caged animals in enclosures is wrong and unethical”. A Sinn Fein councillor pushing for the closure of Belfast Zoo was quoted as saying: “The current treatment of animals for entertainment purposes should have no place in modern Belfast."
SEE ALSO
A RED C poll, commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, reveals that a massive 77% agree that the government should BAN HARE COURSING. The opinion poll carried out in September found that just 9% disagree with a ban https://www.facebook.com/banbloodsports/posts/2513861852062691
Belfast Zoo facing closure as Sinn Féin says caging animals 'wrong and unethical'
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/popular-zoo-facing-closure-sinn-21400714
ACTION ALERT
Please join us in urging Sinn Fein to respect the wishes of the majority and reinstate its previous anti-coursing policy.
Sinn Féin
44 Parnell Square
Dublin 1, Ireland
Tel: (353) 1 8726100/8726932
Email: admin@sinnfein.ie