Countryside Alliance Ireland has called on Stormont to focus on the priorities of people in Northern Ireland, after a new poll revealed that fox hunting did not rank high among key issues for voters in the next assembly election.
The survey asked participants to list the top three “key issues” they think political parties at Stormont should be concentrating on in the next general election.
Fox hunting was listed among the top three concerns for just 5% of the poll’s 1,050 respondents.
“Bringing the National Health Service (NHS) waiting lists down”, “prioritising regional jobs, skills and investment”, and “housing shortages” were the top three policy priorities for poll respondents.
The polling was carried out online by Belfast-based polling and market research company LucidTalk, between February 14-17, who said that demographic quotas were used to ensure the results of the polls were “representative” to Northern Ireland.
Hunting
The poll comes amid proposed calls for legislation to ban hunting with dogs in Northern Ireland from Alliance party MLA, John Blair.
The private member’s bill would bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK, where the practice is already outlawed.
Countryside Alliance Ireland has called on Blair to drop his legislative proposals, referencing the research which it said indicates that his “obsession with legislating on hunting is completely out of step with the priorities of people in Northern Ireland”.
Director of Countryside Alliance Ireland, Gary McCartney said: “This research shows that John Blair’s obsession with legislating on hunting is completely out of step with the priorities of people in Northern Ireland and threatens the delivery of the agenda set out in the programme for government.
“There are any number of critical problems facing the countryside and Northern Ireland as a whole. Seeking to waste more of Stormont’s time on an issue that is irrelevant to nearly every voter is selfish and wasteful.
“If Mr. Blair continues with his pointless pursuit of hunting this research sends a very clear message to the executive, the speaker and MLAs about the issues that the people of Northern Ireland want them to focus on, and hunting is not one of them.”
In 2021, the Northern Ireland assembly voted by 45 votes to 38, to reject a proposed bill to ban hunting wild animals with dogs in Northern Ireland, following a major opposition campaign by Countryside Alliance Ireland and the rural community.
