What is the Minister talking about?
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Minister is defending the indefensible and he knows it. He is defending cruel, barbaric practices. He is defending the organised killing for human entertainment of a tiny minority of foxes. Then, he tries to do it in such a way as to suggest that it should not be divided along urban and rural lines, having two minutes previously said that this is a "wedge issue" that is "designed to be emotive and confrontational", and that there are many other rural activities we would like to ban. On the one hand, the Minister said we should not be pitching it as urban and rural, and we agree, but on the other hand, he was doing precisely that. The Minister said we are presenting this as a binary issue. He was not clear on what non-binary way he wants to present it. Some of us are opposed to fox hunting. We are opposed to this cruel, barbaric practice. We think it must go the way of dog fighting. I do not know if the Minister had a problem with the banning of dog fighting. We are opposed to badger baiting. It should be banned immediately. Others do not agree with that. The Minister thinks that this should continue. That is a binary issue. I am sorry if that offends the Minister in some way. The Minister did not say "rural pursuits" and instead went for "rural activities" because, of course, it brings us back to the presidential election. Fox hunting played an unexpectedly outsized role in the campaign as an illustration of how incredibly out of touch Heather Humphreys was, with her continued invocation of rural pursuits and her enthusiastic support for fox hunting, not shared by the vast majority of the public. In the end, the anti-fox hunting candidate won and the pro-fox hunting candidate lost, and it was a strong illustration for people that this person was wildly out of touch. Therefore, it is deeply ironic that we are going to have a vote tonight in the Dáil, where it seems the three big parties are going to continue to be out of touch, not take the lesson of that presidential election and vote to allow this cruel practice to continue. Regarding the other arguments the Minister made, the only way he can defend the indefensible is with misinformation and a divisive approach. There was the suggestion that this is about pest control. First, to be clear, it is misinformation to say that our Bill bans the shooting of foxes. Of course, it does not.
Sentiment score: -0.13
It explicitly does not. It is hunting - fox hunting. If the Minister has a problem with the-----
Sentiment score: -0.13
It is about fox hunting. That is what the Bill is about. People can go and read it online.
Sentiment score: 0.00
If the Minister had a problem, he could come back and sum up by saying, “We agree with a ban on fox hunting, but we have a problem with some of the wording and the way it is done”. That is no problem. What would happen is it would be passed on Second Stage and amended on Committee Stage. The point on the ban on trail hunting is there precisely because this has been used in Britain as a way of continuing undercover or underground fox hunting. However, no ban is specified and we support the possibility of the continuation of drag hunting. Let us be real about the argument on pest control. Saoirse McHugh makes a very good point in the newspaper today: “I don't think anybody believes that getting a pack of 50 dogs and 50 people on horseback to chase a single fox to exhaustion is a reasonable or efficient form of pest control.” Foxes are no threat to anyone or anyone's livelihood. They are beautiful, intelligent animals that play a vital role in our ecosystem. Tearing them limb from limb is not a sport. It is not an ancient Irish tradition. It is not a rural pursuit. It is an alien bloodlust, imported into this country by a colonial aristocracy. The Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association was established in 1845 during the Famine, as Deputy Healy noted. While ordinary people were starving to death, there were aristocrats in red coats riding around on horseback, torturing animals to death. That is what this tradition is about. I have to put it to those in Sinn Féin. What are they thinking? What are they thinking about supporting this colonial practice? If they do not come to their senses, if they do not change their party's position on this, I hope at the very least that they will allow a free vote. Surely they know that this is going to be done away with. In 20 years’ time, we are not going to have the continuation of fox hunting in this country. Surely a majority of the Sinn Féin membership supports a ban on fox hunting. I know that those I worked with in the presidential campaign were laughing at Heather Humphreys, her support of rural pursuits and her defence of fox hunting, and they were supporting Catherine Connolly’s opposition to it. Surely some of them will break with the party Whip and vote with the people, who, urban or rural, are overwhelmingly opposed to fox hunting.
Sentiment score: 0.02
Yes.
Sentiment score: 0.40
It is.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The badgers have nothing to do with it. It is a waste of money.
Sentiment score: -0.21
That is nonsense. There are loads of papers on this.
Sentiment score: -0.20
The Government is wasting our money-----
Sentiment score: -0.40
-----on killing badgers.
Sentiment score: -0.66
That is absolute nonsense. It is not badgers. It is a waste of public money.
Sentiment score: -0.27
The Minister of State is going to sell them out on Mercosur.
Sentiment score: 0.00
You are out of touch.
Sentiment score: 0.00