Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy has maintained that the party does not want cruel hunting banned - a statement which contradicts a previous assurance from Mary Lou McDonald TD that “Sinn Fein is opposed to foxhunting and will vote in favour of a ban at the next opportunity”.
On Tuesday - just over a week after 25 Sinn Fein MLAs voted against a bill which would have banned hunting in Northern Ireland - Deputy Carthy was invited on to the Today With Claire Byrne show on RTE Radio 1 to explain the move.
Matt Carthy claimed that the bill introduced by John Blair MLA (Alliance Party) “fell outside the Sinn Fein policy position”.
“We oppose unnecessary infliction of cruelty to animals but we also recognise that bans in these instances don’t work,” he said. “What we need to do is work with rural communities in particular to ensure we have regulations in place and in force...”
Presenter Claire Byrne put it to him that “Declan McAleer [Sinn Fein MLA] was right when he said the party does not agree with a ban on hunting” to which Matt Carthy replied “that’s Sinn Fein’s position, yes.”
This is entirely at odds with the pre-election assurance given by the Sinn Fein president to ICABS last year that the party is against fox hunting and would vote in favour of a ban.
“If you disagree with unnecessary suffering to animals, how can hunting with dogs be okay?” Claire Byrne asked Matt Carthy during the live discussion.
Matt Carthy outrageously presented “protection of biodiversity” as a justification for rejecting a ban on the barbaric bloodsport which involves releasing a pack of hounds to chase a fox to exhaustion before the unfortunate animal is caught, attacked, bitten, disembowelled and pulled apart.
“There are different reasons for hunting with dogs, including protection of biodiversity, including other animal welfare issues because hunting does form a fabric in terms of pest control and all of the rest,” he commented.
Claire Byrne challenged him on this, asking “so some of the prey don’t mind it? It doesn’t cause them suffering?”
“It’s strange. It’s a strange thing to say,” she told him.
“It’s a difficult one,” Matt Carthy continued. “As someone who has never been at a foxhunt in my life and who doesn’t fully understand the concept of it, I understand that you don’t ban something simply because you don’t understand it...There are people within our party who hold different views to what our party position is. And that’s precisely why we bring these matters before an Ard Fheis. We thrash them out. We have a debate and the membership vote on them. And then when we do vote on them, we are all bound by those decisions and they can be reviewed and reflected on.”
Matt Carthy TD is very much in the minority if he doesn’t understand fox hunting. The vast majority of citizens in both the Republic and Northern Ireland fully understand that the bloodsport is a form of appalling animal cruelty that should have no place in modern Ireland. They recognise that deriving pleasure from the persecution and brutal killing of wildlife is wrong and should be consigned to history.
Opinion polls in the Republic and Northern Ireland have confirmed that most people want fox hunting banned. It’s time for Sinn Fein to update its animal welfare policies to reflect public opinion and at the next opportunity, back a ban.
Listen to the full show extract (14/12/2021)
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ACTION ALERT
Contact Mary Lou McDonald TD and ask why, despite an assurance that her party is “opposed to foxhunting” and would “vote in favour of a ban at the next opportunity”, Sinn Fein MLAs voted against the bill.
Mary Lou McDonald TD
President, Sinn Fein
Tel: (01) 727 7102
Email: marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
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Sinn Féin Head Office
44 Cearnóg Pharnell
Dublin 1
Tel: 01 8726100
Email: admin@sinnfein.ie
Urge Matt Carthy TD (Cavan Monaghan) to back a ban on cruel foxhunting.
Email: matt.carthy@oireachtas.ie
Tel: (01) 618 3473
Twitter: @mattcarthy
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Please sign and share the petitions
Ban Blood Sports in Ireland
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Sinn Fein: Support a ban on cruel hare coursing
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SEE ALSO
Sinn Fein vote ensures foxhunt cruelty to continue in Northern Ireland
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“Sinn Féin is opposed to foxhunting”
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Sinn Féin support for a ban on cruel bloodsports [ Ссылка ]
