The Animal Health and Welfare (Ban on Fox Hunting) Bill 2025 is scheduled for second stage debate in the Dáil tomorrow morning.

The All Ireland Science Media Centre asked experts to comment on fox ecology, predation, and management

Dr Colin Lawton, Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway, comments:

“With the loss of natural environments, increase in habitat fragmentation, and the spread of urbanisation, animals frequently come into contact with humans. Often these interactions cause ‘human-wildlife conflicts’, where the animal causes damage to property, attacks domestic animals or livestock, or competes for resources used by humans. Foxes are a particularly adaptable species and have survived the impact of habitat loss better than many species. They can be a source of these human-wildlife conflicts, in particular through attacks on chickens and pheasants housed in coops and pens.

“Foxes and other carnivores can partake in ‘surplus killing’, a behaviour where they attack and kill several prey at once when the opportunity presents itself. In the wild they would then return to the kills over several days for food. In the unnatural scenario of chickens housed closely together, a medium-sized predator such as a fox will in a short time kill all the animals that have no means of escape.

“Human-wildlife conflicts are an issue worldwide, often involving predators that are threatened species and in need of protection. Solutions can be nuanced and multi-faceted and may involve compensation schemes for farmers, improved fencing or enclosure design, monitoring and alarm systems, and translocation or targeted control of problem animals. If there is a need to control foxes, it should be based on ecological assessments of the populations, with sustainable numbers of animals removed to a pre-determined level. From a welfare perspective the animals should be culled using a method that is instantaneous and does not instil fear or pain in the individual animal.”

Declarations of interest: The author declares that they have no conflicts of interest to report

Dr Holly English, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology & Environmental Science, University College Dublin, comments: 

“Any potential control of wild animal populations must be evidence-based and ensure high animal welfare standards are upheld. Traditional fox hunting, involving pursuing foxes on horseback with packs of hounds, does not meet these criteria. Killing of foxes in this way is unnecessarily cruel. Even when foxes are not captured by the hunting party, these chases are highly stressful, with potential long-term consequences for the individual. Negative impacts are not limited to foxes, as trampling of farmland and other property damage can be experienced by local landowners. Further, the colonial history of these hunts sits uncomfortably with many people living in Ireland today.

“Foxes are territorial so when one is removed, another moves in. Any short-term impact on local fox numbers is typically compensated by more cubs the following spring. Effective wildlife management should account for these aspects of fox ecology and prioritise non-lethal actions. Non-lethal controls safeguard animal welfare and can provide more successful and cost-effective long-term strategies for promoting coexistence between people and wildlife. These strategies include better protective fencing and compensation for affected farmers, for example. In cases where an argument can be made for lethal control, this should be licensed and regulated through the National Parks and Wildlife Service, as is the case for other species.”  

Declarations of interest: None