Charities Welcome Launch of Ban on Hunting Private Members Bill Consultation

Charities welcome launch of Ban on Hunting Private Member’s Bill Consultation

The League Against Cruel Sports and USPCA have welcomed the launch of a Private Members Bill to bring about a ban on hunting with dogs, tabled by John Blair MLA.

Already illegal in England, Wales and Scotland, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where its still legal to hunt mammals for sport.

Speaking following the launch of the Private Members Bill, USPCA Chief Executive Nora Smith said:

“USPCA joined Together with the League Against Cruel Sports in March to ban hunting with dogs.  Our polling has shown that over 70% of people across all age groups and all parts of Northern Ireland want this terrible form of animal cruelty to end.

Since the launch of our campaign we have taken our message to ban hunting with dogs to politicians and the public.  Our online petition has received over 6,500 signatures and is growing daily. 

We would like to thank John for his continued support to bring about this ban and look forward to continuing our engagement with the MLAs and the public over the coming months.”

Robbie Marsland from the League said:

“Chasing and killing mammals with dogs has no place in today’s society. We are asking everyone to tell their local politicians to support this Bill and let them know that the cruel and wanton killing of wild animals must end.   

Most people we speak to think that hunting with dogs is already illegal in Northern Ireland – now’s the time to make that a reality.

We’ve had really encouraging conversations with many MLAs, political parties and members of the public, and we are optimistic that there will be a majority in support of the Bill when it comes before the Assembly.”

Sign the petition here.