GREEN PARTY MLA INTRODUCES BILL IN ASSEMBLY TO BAN FOX HUNTING IN NORTHERN IRELAND BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THIS PASSED!! We NEED you to contact your local MLA and make sure they support our call for a ban. The first step is to sign this petition so that we can show the Northern Ireland MLAs that there is wide support in Northern Ireland for the introduction of a ban because at the moment they are all denying it! Here is what the Green Party in Northern Ireland is doing and what we have to say... North Down Green Party MLA Brian Wilson has today introduced a Bill in the Assembly to extend the UK ban on fox hunting to Northern Ireland. Green Party in Northern Ireland MLA Brian Wilson said: “This bill will bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK in terms of banning hunting with dogs. “This is certainly not an attack on rural communities - in fact the introduction of the ban has changed the mind set of the majority of hunts in England, Scotland and Wales. “They have turned to drag hunting which provides all the excitement of the chase and colour and tradition without having the cruelty of a small animal being torn apart. “The predictions that thousands of horses and hounds would be put down and there would be a massive increase in rural unemployment have not been fulfilled. “In fact, the ban has had very little effect on rural life. Indeed a recent MORI opinion poll showed that 75% of the population supports the ban - including 7 out of 10 in rural communities. “I believe that blood ‘sports’ are barbaric and have no place in a civilised society. Hunting foxes with horses and hounds is an inherently cruel practice and I for one do not want to live in a society where any animal is tortured and abused for entertainment. “The Green party is opposed to all violence including violence against animals so this is not an urban versus rural debate – it is simply about right and wrong. “This party defends and supports measures to strengthen all animal welfare in Northern Ireland whether domestic, agricultural or wildlife and introducing this Bill is another way to enshrine these rights in law. “During the consultation process, I discovered that many people were both shocked and appalled to discover that the ban on hunting foxes with horses and hounds did not apply in Northern Ireland. “This is a devolved matter and local political representatives actually have the power to make a change for good and end unnecessary suffering and cruelty in the name of entertainment. “As in many other issues, we should demand parity with the rest of the UK and this proposed Bill will bring us into line with the rest of the United Kingdom and end this cruel and barbaric practice which has no place in our society in the 21st Century. I sincerely hope that my other Assembly colleagues will have the compassion and the foresight to support this bill and ensure that it becomes law."