Sir, – I see Sinn Féin have voted to support a ban on fox-hunting after a heated debate at the party’s ardfheis last weekend.
The majority of Irish people genuinely care about the fox and abhor the chasing to exhaustion and tearing apart a live animal for “sport”.
The often-heard claim that a campaign to ban it is driving a wedge between rural and urban Ireland creates the very division it purports to denounce. It is also insulting to the compassion and empathy of the many people living in rural Ireland who care deeply about animals. Consecutive opinion polls have shown that almost as many people in rural areas want fox-hunting banned.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would do well to take note. This issue is not going to go away. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, rising fuel costs and lack of housing, less tangible cultural issues are still important to voters from all backgrounds. – Yours, etc,
RM Block
ANNETTE JORGENSEN,
Environmental sociologist,
Carrick-on-Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
