Fox hunters gather despite ban on using dogs for kill

THOUSANDS of fox hunters keen to continue their traditions were gathering today for the new season.

Richard Dodd of the Countryside Alliance said hunts wanted their meets to be as normal as possible, despite the ban on hunting with hounds which came into force this year.

"It will look the same, feel the same and smell the same, but will not quite be the same," he said.

Many of the hunts would be trail hunting and exercising hounds, said Mr Dodd. Others have taken to hunting foxes with birds of prey.

Nigel Maidment of the Duke of Beaufort's Hunt claimed the Hunting Act, banning the traditional country sport, had backfired on the Government.

But John Rolls, RSPCA Director of Animal Welfare Promotion, said: "Since our raison d'etre is to prevent cruelty to animals, we believe that the Hunting Act is a very important step forward for animal welfare."