Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to get into the debate we had on the legislation about which we talked earlier. I do not know whether there was any digging out involved in the hunt the Deputy described to me. There is no mention of it one way or the other. We have made it very clear during the debate on these issues that we will also consider making sure there will be certain conditions required to be met when an animal is dug out. I recall having many meetings on this issue with representative bodies of working terrier groups, as well as non-governmental organisations. We tried to strike the best balance we could in the legislation.

In response to the advertisement the Deputy read, many people enjoy hunting. They enjoy riding across the countryside on horseback. There are many successful draghunts in Ireland, as well as full foxhunts. My obligation as Minister and a legislator is to put rules and regulations in place to make sure this is done in as acceptable a way as possible from an animal welfare point of view. That is what we are trying to do.

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