A big THANK YOU to Peter Egan for joining calls for a ban on cruel fox hunting in Northern Ireland.
“I urge all political parties in Northern Ireland to support John Blair MLA’s bill to ban cruel fox hunting and other forms of hunting with dogs,” he stated this week. “The time is right for this to happen.”
Alliance Party MLA John Blair's Hunting with Dogs Bill returns to the Northern Ireland Assembly for debate today, Tuesday 26 May 2026.
Watch the debate between 3.45pm and 6.15pm at https://niassembly.tv
Urgently contact MLAs and ask them to support the bill which aims to “prohibit hunting wild mammals with dogs; to prohibit trail hunting; to prohibit terrier work; and to set out exemptions from these prohibitions”.
There is massive public support for a ban. A 2024 poll conducted by LucidTalk found that 76% want fox hunting banned. In response to a public consultation on the bill, 80% of respondents living in Northern Ireland said that ending hunting with dogs is important to them.
92,000 people have signed a "Ban hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland" petition https://change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-assembly-ban-hunting-with-dogs-in-northern-ireland
Animal welfare groups across Northern Ireland, including the League Against Cruel Sports and Ulster SPCA, are calling for a ban on fox hunting.
There is no doubt that fox hunting involves extreme cruelty to wildlife. Foxes are chased to exhaustion by packs of dogs and when caught, they are attacked, knocked off their feet, bitten, disembowelled and pulled apart. Foxes who try to escape underground suffer further cruelty. The hunt’s terriermen send terriers down the hole to corner and attack the fox. They dig the clay away from above and the squealing and injured fox is pulled out and brutally killed. The continuation of fox hunting makes a mockery of animal welfare legislation.
Find out more about the bill at
Peter Egan – who has played Hugh ‘Shrimpie’ MacClare in Downton Abbey and also appeared in After Life 2, Unforgotten, Chariots of Fire, Ever Decreasing Circles and Death at a Funeral – has previously expressed support for a ban on fox hunting in the Republic of Ireland. He has also spoken out against the cruelty of live exports from Ireland and urged the Irish government to end hare coursing and dog-killing greyhound racing.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Urgently contact MLAs and appeal ask them to support a ban on fox hunting by voting in favour of John Blair MLA's Hunting with Dogs Bill.
Find phone numbers for MLAs at
https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/contacts.aspx
Email Sinn Fein MLAs
Remind them that at the recent Sinn Fein Ard Fheis, Motion 29 was passed, meaning the party now supports a ban on fox hunting.
aine.murphy@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; aisling.reilly@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; Aoife.Finnegan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; caoimhe.archibald@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; caral.nichuilin@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; cathal.boylan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; ciara.ferguson@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; colm.gildernew@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; eclan.kearney@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; declan.mcaleer@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; deirdre.hargey@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; emma.sheerin@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; gerry.kelly@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; jemma.dolan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; john.odowd@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; linda.dillon@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; liz.kimmins@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; maoliosa.mchugh@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; michelle.oneill@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; nicola.brogan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; orlaithi.flynn@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; padraig.delargy@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; pat.sheehan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; philip.mcguigan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; sinead.ennis@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; cathy.mason@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; danny.baker@mla.niassembly.gov.uk
Email DUP MLAs
david.brooks@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; deborah.erskine@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; joanne.bunting@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; emma.little-pengelly@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; pam.cameron@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; phillip.brett@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; cheryl.brownlee@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; edwin.poots@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; thomas.buchanan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; harry.harvey@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; maurice.bradley@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; keith.buchanan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; diane.dodds@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; gordon.lyons@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; jonathan.buckley@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; michelle.mcilveen@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; paul.frew@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; paul.givan@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; stephen.dunne@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; trevor.clarke@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; brian.kingston@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; diane.forsythe@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; peter.martin@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; alan.robinson@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; Gareth.Wilson@mla.niassembly.gov.uk
Phone numbers for Sinn Fein MLAs
Áine Murphy - Phone: 02867 721642
Aisling Reilly Tel: 0044 28 9062 6670
Aoife Finnegan - Phone: (028) 3086 1948
Carál Ní Chuilín - Phone: 028 9521 5649
Caoimhe Archibald - Phone: 02877 742488
Cathal Boylan - Phone: 02837 511797
Cathy Mason - Phone: 028 4426 0191
Ciara Ferguson - Tel: 0044 28 7137 7551
Danny Baker - Phone: 028 9061 1176
Declan Kearney - Phone: 028 9454 8166
Deirdre Hargey - Phone: 02890 243194
Sinéad Ennis - Phone: 02841 754448
Gerry Kelly - Phone: 02895 219295
Colm Gildernew - Phone: 02887 722776
Jemma Dolan - Phone: 028 6632 8214
John O'Dowd - Phone: 02838 349675
Linda Dillon - Phone: 028 8774 8689
Liz Kimmins - Phone: 02830 264317
Maolíosa McHugh - Tel: +44 28 7188 6464
Declan McAleer - Phone: 028 807 51432
Philip McGuigan - Phone: 028 2765 7198
Michelle O'Neill - Phone: 028 86277680
Nicola Brogan - Phone: 028 8225 3040
Órlaithí Flynn - Phone: 02890808404
Pádraig Delargy - Tel 0044 28 7137 7551
Pat Sheehan - Phone: 028 9061 3894
Emma Sheerin - Phone: 028 7964 4550
Phone numbers for DUP MLAs
Phillip Brett - Phone: 02890 027 277
David Brooks - Phone: 028 9694 4487
Cheryl Brownlee - Phone: 028 9360 3834
Joanne Bunting - Phone: 028 9079 7100
Pam Cameron - Phone: 02890 34 2234
Deborah Erskine - Phone: 02866 320722
Emma Little-Pengelly - Phone: 07778292526
Maurice Bradley - Phone: 02870 356990
Keith Buchanan - Phone: 028 7930 0295
Thomas Buchanan - Phone: 028 8224 7702
Jonathan Buckley - Phone: 02838 894477
Trevor Clarke - Phone: 028 9446 3273
Diane Dodds - Phone: 02840 520048
Stephen Dunne - Phone: 02891 245 277
Paul Frew - Phone: 02825 659800
Paul Givan - Phone: 028 9266 1100
Harry Harvey - Phone: 07590742280
Gordon Lyons - Phone: 028 2826 7722
Michelle McIlveen - Phone: 028 9187 1441
Edwin Poots - Phone: 02890 135316
Diane Forsythe - Phone: 07928424770
Brian Kingston - Phone: 02890744008
Peter Martin - Phone: 02891 312301
Alan Robinson - Phone: 028 7776 9191
Gareth Wilson - Phone: 028 3887 0500
Sign and share the petitions
Ban hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland
https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-assembly-ban-hunting-with-dogs-in-northern-ireland
It's time to end hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland
https://takeaction.league.org.uk/page/144213/petition/1