Debate contribution: Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011: Hunting with Dogs
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 17 June 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011: Hunting with Dogs
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4496710
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his question. As I said, we will enter into a co-design process with animal welfare organisations in the time ahead, and I am keen to discuss all of that. I am also aware that my colleague sitting beside me, John Blair, did excellent work on the issue through his private Member's Bill. I hope that he is able to bring it back to the House, and I hope that Members are able to support it, because it is long past time that we outlawed that barbaric practice in Northern Ireland. Whether it is by John or by me, we will take action on it, because Northern Ireland should be ashamed of what has happened in our past on the issue.
125 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.63).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.06 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.11 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.63 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.92 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.03 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.03 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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