Healy-Rae vs. Savage: Fox Hunting Debate

0:00On March 25th, this morning on New Stock Breakfast, Minister of State Michael Healey Ray spared with host Anton Savage over Foxhunting. The debate came just before a protest against the practice planned at Lindster House. Healey Ray defended it as a key way to manage Fox numbers that threatened farms. Earlier this week, the issue heated up with a guest ecologist and farmer, Donna Mullin, joining in. Healey Ray stressed that a bill to ban Foxhunting had been defeated in the day, back in December, calling it a democratic outcome. Tensions rose as Savage kept pushing Healey Ray on whether there are kinder ways to control Foxes, like avoiding dog hunts. Healey Ray grew irritated, focusing instead on the need to curb Foxes to stop attacks on livestock such as baby lambs. Mullin stepped in to note shooting offers a fast kill as an alternative. She pointed out Healey Ray side-step direct answers on reducing cruelty. Meanwhile, her group Rural Ireland against Foxhunting leads today's rally from 12th 30pm, keeping the push for change alive amid Rural divides.