BPCA chief executive Rosina Robson gave evidence today (Thursday, October 15) at Stormont to make sure the draft Hunting with Dogs (Northern Ireland) Bill protects the use of working dogs in pest management.
A private members’ Bill introduced by John Blair, MLA for the Alliance Party, is progressing through the Northern Ireland Assembly and seeks to ban fox and trail hunting.
As part of the legislative process, the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is scrutinising the Bill.
BPCA was invited to attend the meeting and give evidence on how pest management might be affected.
Mrs Robson highlighted the sector’s interest in protecting food security and public health and offered constructive criticism of the bill to ensure working dogs remained a valuable part of the toolkit.
“We’re not against the proposed new offence of trail hunting,” Mrs Robson said. “But as drafted, the definition would also cover dogs following a naturally laid scent. That could make it illegal to use dogs to detect rodents.
“We’re also concerned about the proposed offence of terrier work. It would ban using a working dog to flush a mammal from an ‘enclosed space’, but the Bill doesn’t define what that means.”
She continued: “In principle, that could include warehouses and food production sites – not just holes in the ground – potentially restricting the use of working dogs for pest management inside buildings.
“Finally, we’ve called for rabbits to be included in the hunting exemption alongside rats and mice. That would help preserve options for controlling rabbits where shooting cannot be carried out safely, and other methods are limited.”
What’s next?
The Committee will continue to hold further evidence sessions and discuss any potential amendments to the bill. This is expected to continue until early 2027.
The Bill will then progress through two stages of consideration, where the Assembly will debate and vote on any proposed amendments before a final vote.
The Bill must successfully progress through all these stages before the Assembly is dissolved ahead of the May 2027 elections.
BPCA said it will continue to engage with the Committee and other MLAs to ensure that the changes it has called for make it into the final bill.
