Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let us consider what is involved in fox hunting. First, in the marking to ground, the pack of hounds will chase the fox into the drain or earth. Then, the terrier man sends a terrier down the hole to attack or corner the fox.

After that people start to dig away the clay and the fox is exposed. We know that this is an extremely cruel practice, but there are people who are so dedicated to hunting that they will find a way around all of the regulations in the world. It is cruel; it is not a sport. This does not concern only the isolated incident about which I wrote to the Minister. We have other examples. I came across this advertisement:

What can be better than a day's fox hunting in Ireland? The cry of the hounds, the sound of the hunting horn, the thrill of jumping over natural fences, and the sheer style of this equestrian sport is available to everyone at ... Why not join us for the fox hunting holiday of a lifetime? ... There are over 80 hunting clubs in Ireland and we will be delighted to arrange your fox hunting vacation in Ireland ... and join in the craic ... in the pub afterwards.

We are facilitating people to come to this country for foxhunting, a practice which is banned in many other countries and we call it sport.

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