A fox who ran for his life for 40 minutes was among the foxes terrorised by a pack of 27 dogs during a shameful Wicklow Foxhounds hunt.
A report in the Irish Field (27 February 2026) outlined that at the start of the hunt, the pack of hounds “found [a fox] in The Grove in Tom Berrigan’s”. The fox desperately ran to get away before the hunters and hounds “circled back by the Old Kennels through Pat Kelly’s and back over Cousins’ again, where the huntsman stopped them at Pat Purcell’s Caravan Park on the Cloone Road”.
Later, “hounds immediately found at the back of an old shed covered in ivy”. According to the report, “this was the start of a cracking run, a fast 40 minutes all the way to Clogga, where the pack marked him at the imposing Arklow Rock”.
It is unknown if this fox survived or was torn apart by the hounds. 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.
Another fox was targeted after being disturbed from “a bank in Sunderland’s Knock”.
“What followed was a nice run through Ted and John Shaughnessy’s with big jumping country in John Hagan’s and on through Bernard Condren’s, and accounting on top in Bobby Kavanagh’s,” the report stated.
“Accounting” for a fox is a euphemism for the pack of dogs catching and killing the unfortunate fox.
This shameful hunt “met at Eilis and Jack Kavanagh’s Golden Anchor Bar in Castletown, Co Wexford” and after the chasing and killing, the hunters returned to the same location and “were revived with refreshments, courtesy of Jack and Eilis Kavanagh in The Golden Anchor”.
During the hunting season, the Wicklow Foxhounds terrorise foxes on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Shame on the Irish Government for allowing this cruel bloodsport to continue. The latest Ireland Thinks opinion poll (conducted in November 2025) shows that 87% are opposed to the hunting of animals for sport. 81% of respondents to the poll who expressed an opinion, agree that fox hunting as a sport should be banned in Ireland. The poll found that just 13% of people in Ireland are in favour of hunting animals for sport, including a mere 3% "strongly in favour".
DID YOU KNOW? Irish taxpayer-funded Horse Racing Ireland has handed out €13,796,550 to hunts since 2014 (in the form of point to point racing grants), including over €1.7 million for 2024. The Wicklow Hunt hunt has received €115,250 in that period, including €19,600 in 2024.
SEE ALSO:
Hounds “screamed away on a fox” during Wicklow Foxhounds hunt
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1052301943709074&set=a.603523135253626
ACTION ALERT
Boycott the Golden Anchor Bar in Castletown, County Wexford and all businesses which support fox hunting.
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Micheál Martin TD
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Mary Lou McDonald TD
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