Down Syndrome Ireland urged to reject fox hunt donation

Atualização do abaixo-assinadoBan Blood Sports in IrelandDown Syndrome Ireland urged to reject fox hunt donation

Irish Council Against Blood SportsMullingar, Irlanda

16 de abr. de 2026

Down Syndrome Ireland is being urged to reject a donation from the County Limerick Foxhounds hunt.

According to a report in the Irish Field of 13 March 2026, "County Limerick Hunt raised €510 for Down Syndrome Ireland by tallying their tumbles on the hunting field this season", i.e. the number of times hunters fell off horses while they were chasing after foxes.

Down Syndrome Ireland has been told that fundraisers by fox hunts are typically used to try and get some positive publicity and divert attention away from the ugly reality of hunting and killing wildlife.

Fox hunting involves abhorrent animal cruelty. Foxes are chased by packs of hounds and when caught, they are knocked to the ground, bitten, disembowelled and pulled apart.

The vast majority of people in Ireland want this bloodsport banned. 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 County Limerick Foxhounds' terrorisation of foxes has been well documented.

We recently highlighted a hunt report which revealed that foxes were terrorised by 35 dogs at a Limerick Foxhounds hunt. The 6 March 2026 report outlined that the pack of Old English Foxhounds was first brought to a hill where “the furze held a fine dog fox”. This fox ran for his life and, according to the report, “sadly it was only for a few fields before he found a welcoming shore and was given best”. Later, near Lough Gur, another fox was chased by the hunters and hounds. This fox ran past the lake and “as far over as Grange church before returning and finding a welcoming shore near Willie Weeks’ farm yard”. A fox was also seen trying to get away from the hunt at a farm and plantation. Here “Reynard decided discretion was the better part of valour and ran through our neighbour Tom Ryan’s farm before coming to our plantation, where the field got some challenging bank jumping before scent petered out.”

A previous Irish Field report (28 February 2025) told of how the Limerick Foxhounds hunters chased “their pilot [the fox] across the road and a good circle on the hill of Lough Gur resulted in a nice dash” before marking the fox to ground. The fate of this fox was not revealed but 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. The hunt continued on a farm next to Lough Gur where the hounds “soon had a fox afoot, who ran towards the Hamlet, crossing [a farm], before running on towards the Camoge river”. Later, the hunt focused on a farm where there was “extensive plantations which were bound to hold and it didn’t disappoint”. A fox was seen running out of the plantation, with the pack of dogs in pursuit. It is unknown if this fox escaped with his life or was caught and torn apart. Another fox was disturbed and “set his mask again for Barry’s plantation, where he lingered, with loads of woodland hunting”. One of the hounds “persuaded” the unfortunate fox to “make for open country” where he “ran through Ryan’s and back into Power’s, where he found welcome in a previously unknown shore”.

In 2024, an article in British magazine “Horse and Hound” highlighted the plight of foxes during a “fast and furious” Limerick Foxhounds hunt. One of the foxes was killed in woodland, with the report outlining how two red-coated hunters on horseback were “pulled up in the eaves of a dark wood, where the wonderful Limerick hounds finally accounted for their fox”. Another fox was chased and killed – “after a lively little scurry, hounds accounted for their fox in a brambly ditch”. Quoted in the report, National Hunt horse trainer John Gleeson said that “when they get on a fox, they’re the best hounds in the world!”

During the hunting season, the County Limerick hunt terrorise foxes twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

We hope Down Syndrome Ireland will reject a donation connected to an activity responsible for causing suffering and death in the countryside.

Over the years, many charities have rejected donations from hunts. For example, LauraLynn stated that a donation from a fox hunt group was accepted in error. A spokesperson for the children's hospice charity commented: “It has come to our attention that in December 2023 a donation from South Westmeath Hunt, was accepted by LauraLynn in error. A review of all our processes, including our fundraising policy, is currently underway to prevent this kind of error occurring in the future." Previously, Pieta House was thanked for rejecting a "Hunt for Light" hunt fundraiser in Tipperary. A spokesperson commented at the time: “We cannot be seen to have an association with or endorsement of bloodsports, and so we feel it would be inappropriate for us to benefit from or to be associated with a hunt. People across Ireland are so incredibly supportive of Pieta House, but in some cases - such as this one - the manner of the fundraiser is incompatible." The Hope Foundation also turned down a fundraiser organised by a hunt in Cork. The charity contacted the organisers of the fundraiser to say "we do not wish to have this fundraiser carried out in the name of HOPE."

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 in 2024. The County Limerick hunt has received over €131,000 over the years.

SEE ALSO

€13.7 million granted to hunts since 2014
https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/2025/12/27/e13-7-million-granted-to-hunts-since-2014/

ACTION ALERT

Appeal to Down Syndrome Ireland and Down Syndrome Ireland (Limerick branch) to reject the fox hunt donation.

Email: info@downsyndrome.ie; info@limerick.downsyndrome.ie

Help get fox hunting banned in Ireland

Please get in touch with all your local TDs and urge them to pledge support for a ban on cruel fox hunting in Ireland. Visit the Oireachtas website for contact details https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?term=/ie/oireachtas/house/dail/34

Contact the leaders of Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein. Tell them that you want fox hunting, hare coursing and all bloodsports banned.

Micheál Martin TD

Leader, Fianna Fail

Email: micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie; info@fiannafail.ie

Tel: 01 619 4000

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michealmartintd/

X: 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