Rural organisation Countryside Alliance has raised concerns over a new law in Northern Ireland that it claimed could see dog walkers “criminalised”.
The group has raised concerns over the Hunting with Dogs Bill, which is progressing through Northern Ireland’s Legislative Assembly, despite warnings it could be “devastating” for rural communities.
The Countryside Alliance claimed that the proposed legislation could see dog walkers, farmers engaged in pest control, and those involved in shooting sports all potentially facing prosecution.
The group described the law as “a fundamental assault on rural communities” and “defying all common sense”.
Members of the Countryside Alliance and the hunting community held a demonstration against the law outside the Legislative Assembly at Stormont this week, to raise awareness of “the potential devastating impact the proposed legislation could have on people who live and work in the countryside”.
Gary McCarthy, director of Countryside Alliance Ireland, said: “This unjustified bill is a fundamental assault on rural communities, and has enormously wide implications that would affect farmers and dog owners throughout Northern Ireland.”
The bill, as introduced in the Legislative Assembly, says that it will be to offence to organise or participate in a “trail hunt”.
However, under the proposed law, the term “trail hunt” is defined as “inducing or permitting one or more dogs to follow an animal-based scent”, even if the presence of the scent occurs naturally, and even if the scent is entirely made from artificial ingredients to mimic an animal scent.
This has sparked concern that dog owners who take their dogs for a walk could face as much as five years in prison if their dog picks up the scent of a wild animal.
McCarthy claimed that John Blair, the Alliance Party MLA who is sponsoring the bill, is “opting for a culture war against rural people with a full-scale attack on not only hunting, but every aspect of rural life”.
“With so many other issues facing this country, it defies all logic that any politician should deem this a priority for Northern Ireland.
"We will continue to press MLAs to reject this unjustified and indiscriminate legislation at the next stage. Put simply, it cannot stand up to serious scrutiny,” McCarthy said.
Gun owner concerns
The bill has also drawn criticism from gun owners and hunting groups.
FACE Ireland, the Irish branch of the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE), recently held a meeting in Co. Tipperary where the the bill before Stormont came up for discussion.
FACE Ireland includes a number of groups, including the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC).
The Co. Tipperary meeting heard from Cathal Cassidy, a member of the South Tyrone Hunt, and chairperson of the group Northern/North of Ireland Says Enough (NOISE).
He claimed that the bill showed “a complete lack of understanding of rural Ireland and nature”.
Cassidy said: “Off-leash dog walking is a hot topic on many lips and social media, as our dog-loving public grapples with the implications of Alliance MLA John Blair’s private member’s bill.
“Approximately 35.6% of all-Ireland households own one or more dogs, with higher ownership levels in rural areas, farming households and homes with children. That is a lot of ordinary people worried about ‘walkies’.
“The over-inclusive scope potentially criminalises too many law-abiding people, even dog walkers.
“The bill’s broad, undefined terms are too open to interpretation, difficult and costly to implement on the ground and in the courts. Vexatious complainants will have a veritable ‘field day’,” Cassidy claimed.