Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

We went to great lengths to ensure we were not doing anything that would prevent people from continuing to participate in field sports as they would have in the past, as long as that is in a way that is consistent with the codes of conduct enshrined in those sports, including coursing, hunting and fishing. The measure applies only if there is undue cruelty such as the digging out of animals when they have gone to ground, which is unacceptable. In the legislation I am not banning coursing and hunting through the back door. We are trying to get the balance right between facilitating field sports and ensuring the codes of practice agreed for those sports are respected. If people begin to operate outside these codes, that is a different issue. The legislation states:

Nothing in this section applies in relation to anything which occurs in the ordinary course of—

(a) fishing,

(b) lawfully hunting an animal, unless the animal is released in an injured, mutilated or exhausted condition, or

(c) lawfully coursing a hare, unless the hare is hunted or coursed in a space from which it does not have a reasonable chance of escape.

We have spoken to individuals involved in field sports to try to recognise what constitutes lawful hunting. If there is behaviour outside this definition, we need to act on it legislatively. The balance is about right on these issues.