This infographic has made the rounds lately and states that Ireland has the highest amount of hunters (72.8) per 1000 people in all of Europe (7.2% of the Irish population), quite a scary statement if it is true!

This shocking infographic was created by ‘Data Journalist’ Niall McCarthy of Statista, a company which has only 1.3 stars on Trust Pilot, based on over 50 reviews. However, the poor reviews are criticisms of their service rather than their data verification methods.

Statista’s source for this data is the German Hunting Association (DJV) and there is no explanation of the methods or sources they used either [1]. The DJV state their “task is the preservation, […] development and protection of game, hunting and nature” [2]. They claim there are 350,000 hunters (Jäger) in Ireland however there is no source for where this data came from and if it is trustworthy or accurate.

Essentially, the source is a hunting group with an innate bias, and as they don’t clearly state their methodology for the data we advise others remain sceptical of its accuracy until more sufficient evidence is given. In other words, this graph could be entirely accurate or inaccurate, so it is best to take it with a pinch of salt and use the figures by RED C (below) for more accurate estimates of the opposition and support of hunting in Ireland. It’s important to remain sceptical and push for evidence especially when the source is the hunting fraternity itself.⁣

We’ve reached out to both Niall McCarthy and the German Hunting Association to verify the data and we will update this article if we receive a response.

The RED C polls, commissioned by our friends at the Irish Council Against Blood Sports (ICABS), reveals that a massive 77% agree that the government should ban fox hunting. The opinion poll carried out in September 2019 found that just 12% disagree with a ban, while 11% said they don't know.

RED C has a margin error of 3% and is generally considered very accurate and trustworthy.

The RED C results only show that 12% support fox hunting, not how many hunters there are in Ireland.

[Source: here, here and here. To verify our sources contact ICABS or RED C directly.]