New junior minister says hunt ban will be reversed

A clear signal that the controversial ban on stag hunting imposed by the Fianna Fail-Greens government last year will be overturned by the new government was given this week by newly appointed Minister of State for Agriculture, Marine and Food, Meath TD Shane McEntee. The ban, which primarily affected the Ward Union Hunt, proved fiercely divisive and led on one hand to the formation of RISE! (Rural Ireland Says Enough) which campaigned against the ban, and intensive lobbying and protests by anti-bloodsports activists. It was particularly controversial in Meath, the home of the Ward Union Hunt. The newly-appointed Minister of State, the first north Meath Oireachtas member to reach junior ministerial rank, said this week he had no doubt that legislation would be brought forward "to ensure that the Ward Union Hunt will continue to exist and prosper". Minister McEntee has been an outspoken supporter of the hunt who said before the general election that voters should make sure that no-one elected to government ever gets the chance again to mount "an attack on rural Ireland as the Greens did". He said: "Fine Gael made it quite clear that an arrangement will be put in place to ensure that the Ward Union Hunt will continue to stay in business under strict guidelines." His confidence that the ban would be overturned was based on the fact that there was an understanding on the matter between his party and the Labour Party, he added. The FG TD said he was making no apology to anyone about his support for the Ward Union Hunt. "The hunt was picked on by the Greens as an easy target for the Green Party to fulfil its ambitions in government," he said.