The award, which was presented to Mr Blair at Westminster by Baroness Jenny Jones, was established in 1980 to honour Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby, a passionate animal rights advocate and politician. 

Mr Blair received the award in recognition of his extensive work to improve animal welfare in Northern Ireland. In particular, his tireless campaign to end hunting wild mammals with dogs, with his Private Member’s Bill.

On accepting the award, Mr Blair said: “I am deeply honoured and genuinely humbled to receive the Lord Houghton Award for Services to Animal Welfare from the League Against Cruel Sports. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the League for recognising my efforts in this area and for their long-standing dedication to ending cruelty to animals.

“To be presented with an award that has previously been given to people such as Ricky Gervais and Bob Barker is a tremendous privilege. The list of past recipients is extraordinarily strong, and to be placed in the same company as those who have done so much to advance animal welfare is an honour in itself.

“How we treat animals reflects our values as a society. There is no doubt in my mind that hunting wild mammals with dogs is an outdated and brutally cruel practice that has no place in any modern, civilised society.

“It remains a source of real shame that, in 2026, Northern Ireland is still the only part of the United Kingdom without a ban on this form of hunting. That is something I am absolutely determined to change.

“This award strengthens my resolve to keep working until Northern Ireland’s laws properly reflect the compassion of its people and until cruel practices such as hunting wild mammals with dogs are consigned to history once and for all.”