RNLI turns down donation from Irish fox hunt
The RNLI has refused a donation from a fox hunt in Ireland that had planned a New Year’s Eve fundraiser for the charity.
The Dungarvan Foxhounds Supporters Club was hoping to raise money for the lifeboat organisation on Sunday.
It wrote on its Facebook page that “members of the RNLI will hold a bucket collection boosted by a cap donation from the club” at its annual Christmas charity event and meet on New Year’s Eve.
Supporters were urged to “come early or bring a friend on foot or mounted” to raise funds for lifeboat volunteers who patrol the coastline off Waterford in Ireland.
But bosses at the RNLI’s head office in Poole, Dorset, wrote to the hunt to explain that the charity would only accept donations from organisations “in keeping with the values of the institution”.
In a statement, the hunt said: “Regrettably the RNLI HQ have declined our fundraising efforts on New Year’s Eve. So, new plan to be decided in the coming days.”
The move triggered a clash between the pro- and anti-hunting lobby on social media about whether a life-saving charity should accept donations from fox hunters.
Chris Packham, the naturalist and BBC Springwatch and Earth presenter, backed the RNLI decision, prompting scores of animal rights activists to follow suit.
“Wake up!,” he wrote on social media. “The whole wide world is sick of the barbaric, anachronistic, entitled and abject cruelty to wildlife still currently perpetuated by hunting.
“Top work by the RNLI, a charity dedicated to saving lives – not wasting them. Maybe offer your blood money to the weapons industry?”
However, others were less supportive with some writing on the hunt’s Facebook page that the refusal to accept funds from a hunt meant that they would withdraw their support for the RNLI.
One man wrote that he was “totally shocked and disappointed” with the RNLI’s approach, adding that it was a “kick in the teeth for local fundraisers” for the charity.
He said that he believed the local RNLI volunteers “had no trouble” with the hunt and viewed the RNLI position as “ludicrous”.
‘Hunts cannot buy back public favour’
A spokesman for the Hunt Saboteurs Association said: “Situations like this must not be easy for the RNLI, but part of the work of a charity, even one so valuable, and celebrated as theirs, is to stay within public favour.
“They clearly made the decision that it would be more damaging to accept, and become associated with the grim and violent pursuit of fox hunting, than it would to refuse the donation, and stick with their principles, which are of course in line with public opinion.
“We celebrate this clear message that hunts cannot buy back the public favour that they have lost through gestures like this.”
A spokesman for the RNLI said: “The RNLI was approached by a local hunt club in Ireland who wished to hold a bucket collection with fundraising branch volunteers at an upcoming live fox hunt. This request was considered by the RNLI and declined.
“As a charity that saves lives at sea and on inland waters and which operates across both the UK and Ireland, the RNLI reserves the right to decline donations.
“The practice of fox hunting is one that evokes strong feelings in many, including our volunteers and supporters, from all sides of the debate. Fox hunting is illegal in many of the regions where the RNLI operates and, while it continues in some areas, the charity has made the decision to decline donations associated with the activity and therefore remove the ask on volunteers who may not wish to support a fundraising request of this nature.
“We are grateful for the support that our communities give to our lifesavers and the decisions taken on donations are done in consideration of supporting them and ensuring that our core focus remains on the mission of the charity.”
Gary McCartney, the director of the Countryside Alliance Ireland, said: “It is disappointing that a charity which provides such an important service would turn down donations raised by the rural community taking part in an entirely lawful activity. We sincerely hope the RNLI reconsiders their position, and work with rural people going forward, rather than alienating them”.
The hunt supporters club did not respond to a request for a comment.
Fox hunting is legal in Ireland, where foxes are not a protected species, but hunts must be registered and be held at certain times of the year.
