While Fáilte Ireland recognises nature-based tourism is a “large and growing component of international tourism”, the government’s facilitation of cruelty is tarnishing our global image and making Ireland a no-go area for many animal lovers - Thanks to the Irish Examiner for publishing our letter in Monday's edition...

Cruelty blackspot
Letters, Irish Examiner, 25 August 2025

A reported double-digit decrease in tourism revenue and visitor numbers from overseas has been blamed on causes including the high-cost economy.

An unacknowledged factor in the downward trend is likely to be Ireland’s growing reputation as an animal cruelty blackspot.

Countless comments online convey the disgust people feel when they discover that fox hunting and hare coursing continue here, decades after they were banned in other places, and that thousands of badgers are snared and shot every year as part of failed TB eradication efforts.

Ireland’s unfortunate title of “puppy farm capital of Europe” further fuels the off-putting perception that this is an island where cash comes before compassion.

Meanwhile, bird-watchers are choosing to fly elsewhere to avoid witnessing multitudes of feathered friends being blasted out of the sky.

While Fáilte Ireland recognises nature-based tourism is a “large and growing component of international tourism”, the government’s facilitation of cruelty in every corner of the country is tarnishing our global image and making Ireland a no-go area for many animal lovers.

Philip Kiernan, Irish Council Against Blood Sports, Mullingar, Co Westmeath