Animal rights campaigners have stepped up their monitoring of fox hunting as the traditional Boxing Day hunts took place across Scotland's countryside yesterday.
Five years after the law banning hunting with hounds came into force, the League Against Cruel Sports said they have more volunteers than ever keeping close watch to ensure huntsmen are acting within the law.
More than 300 hunts were staged yesterday across Britain, with a small number in Scotland, but with increasing numbers participating, according to hunt supporters.
It is claimed by some that the new law has inadvertently given a boost to the popularity of the bloodsport.
The Duke of Buccleuch's and the Jedforest hunts took place in the Borders, and in the west of Scotland the Eglinton hunt began at Skelton in Ayrshire.
The Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire hunt set off from Houston, with dozens of people turning out to watch what the organisers believe is the oldest hunt in Scotland.
A small number of huntsmen led the way with younger riders in the party, who were not hunting. The ban, first introduced in Scotland in 2002 and then three years later in England, made it illegal to chase a fox with hounds. It can only be flushed out from cover and shot.
As the riders set off, they did so under the gaze of campaigners determined to ensure the law is obeyed.
Louise Robertson, Scottish campaign manager for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "We are satisfied with the law and now we monitor the hunts. We have more people this year than ever before keeping watch and gathering evidence where needed.
"If they are hunting within the law then there is not a problem but we keep a close watch on those we know are flouting it.
"The hunts say they are prospering, most are law abiding but there are a minority who think they are above the law. We know who they are and if we find evidence of illegal activity we pass it on to the police."
The organisation, which has brought private prosecutions in England, said it expects to see more huntsmen in court this year.
Some hunts in England attracted several thousand people, with around 6000 at the Avon Vale hunt in Wiltshire.
Jill Grieve, of the Countryside Alliance, said: "A lot of people didn't know or care about hunting before, but since the Hunting Act has been in the news a lot of people have thought they will go along and see what the fuss is about. We are getting kids in because they are the next generation and we want hunting to go on for the next generation. There are also a couple of lady masters. It is not a male preserve in any shape or form."
Earlier this month the first person to be convicted under the Hunting Act in England won an appeal.
A judge decided Tony Wright, 53, from the Exmoor Foxhounds, proved he reasonably believed, perhaps optimistically, he had put in place safeguards he thought would ensure compliance with the law.
What law states The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2002. It banned the use of packs of hounds to kill foxes. They can still flush out foxes towards people with guns who shoot them. It is legal to exercise the dogs using the scent of a fox. In England and Wales the Hunting Act, which also bans the hunting of foxes with dogs, was passed in 2004.
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