MINISTER SAYS THERE NO PLANS TO BAN FOX HUNTING
The Agriculture Minister says there are no plans to ban fox hunting and hare coursing.
Simon Coveney is addressing an animal welfare conference in Dublin this morning which is being picketed by a small group of anti-bloodsport protesters.
The Minister says the new Animal Welfare Act will lead to prosecutions against those who abuse animals and regulate coursing and hunting.
However he says outright bans on hunting are not on the agenda.
“We have seen significant improvements in terms of regulating those activities – but of course there are some people who just want to ban outright a whole series of activities” he said.
“My approach has been to regulate, to put codes of conduct in place to make sure that when there are activities that people are concerned about we have tight regulation and inspections” he added.
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