Foxes terrorised by 35 dogs at recent Kildare hunt

Actualización de la peticiónBan Blood Sports in IrelandFoxes terrorised by 35 dogs at recent Kildare hunt

Irish Council Against Blood SportsMullingar, Irlanda

26 nov 2025

Foxes were terrorised by a pack of 35 dogs at a recent hunt in County Kildare.

A report in the Irish Field outlined that at the start of the Kildare Foxhounds hunt (which took place at Punchestown Racecourse - "the hunt owns the extensive site, and the kennels are conveniently located nearby"), the dogs were seen "hunting down the valley".

"The pack marked this fellow [fox] to ground and almost immediately picked up another who [they] hunted up the valley where they pressured him to ground also," the 21 November 2025 report stated.

In fox hunting terminology, “marked to ground” refers to the point when the pack of hounds chase the fox into an earth or drain. This is typically followed by the arrival of the hunt’s terriermen who cruelly catch the fox using shovels, spades and terriers before the doomed animal is pulled out and brutally killed.

Later, the hunters and hounds disturbed two other foxes and forced one of them to run for his life - "they were back on the line of the second fox, crossing the road through the sand pits and were heading for the main road where the huntsman stopped them."

After that, another unfortunate fox was persecuted - "they found again in the Quarry and had a circular run and marked him in a stick pile, but he bolted and ran on towards the Blackhills".

Among those participating in this shameful hunt were Punchestown Racecourse chairman David Mongey, Matt Dempsey (former editor of the Irish Farmers Journal and former President of the RDS), Lt Col Gerry O’Gorman (former OC at the Army Equitation School) and Jane Foley of Castlewarden Pony and Country Club.

The Irish Government must not allow this bloodsport to continue. A RED C opinion poll, commissioned by the Irish Council Against Blood Sports, showed that a 77% majority (in both urban and rural areas) agree that the government should ban fox hunting. The poll found that just 12 per cent disagree with a ban.

TAKE ACTION

Help get cruel fox hunting banned in Ireland

Contact all your local TDs and urge them to support Ruth Coppinger TD’s Animal Health & Welfare (Ban On Fox Hunting) Bill when it returns to Dail Eireann on 17 December. Visit the Oireachtas website for email addresses and phone numbers for TDs https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/34

Contact the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and the Labour Party. Tell them to vote in favour of Deputy Coppinger's bill - or at the very least, allow a free vote.

Micheál Martin TD
Leader, Fianna Fail
Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie
Tel: 01 619 4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@MichealMartinTD

Simon Harris TD
Leader, Fine Gael
Telephone: 01 281 3727
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie; finegael@finegael.ie
X: http://www.twitter.com/SimonHarrisTD
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeputySimonHarris

Mary Lou McDonald TD
Leader, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie, admin@sinnfein.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLouMcDonald
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MaryLouMcDonaldTD

Ivana Bacik TD
Leader, The Labour Party
Tel: (01) 6183136
Email: ivana.bacik@oireachtas.ie; info@labour.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanabacik
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bacikivana/

Keep hunters off your land

If you are a landowner, make your land off-limits to hunters. Find out more about how to do this on our Farmers/Landowners page – http://www.banbloodsports.com/farmers.htm

Sign and share our “Ban Blood Sports in Ireland” petition
https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-blood-sports-in-ireland

Sign and share the Uplift petition
https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/petition-to-ban-fox-hunting-in-ireland

Watch our campaign video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG9rMlE3VAQ

Please support our campaign with a donation
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