About 50 leading members of the League Against Cruel Sports are set to form a breakaway group following the organisation's annual general meeting on Saturday, according to one of its members.

Former chief officer John Bryant, who joined the league 30 years ago, claims almost half of those present at the meeting will now join his new splinter group to "carry on the traditional work of the league".

Anti-hunting bill "wrecked" by government, Mr Bryant said

Mr Bryant also confirmed that the campaign group's newly-appointed chief executive Pamela Furness had resigned at the AGM saying that the "organisation was totally dysfunctional".

Disagreements within the league over the selling of some of its sanctuaries and its refusal to "rock the boat with the Labour Government" over the fight to outlaw hunting had led to the split, he said.

Mr Bryant vowed to form a new organisation "which will not be frightened of rocking the boat".

"Several of us believe the league is taking the wrong direction.

"There is no point in staying in and having a war and we are now duty bound to go away and take the direction that we think we should take.

Government 'betrayal'

The decision to break away from the league had been brought to a head by what Mr Bryant called the "betrayal" of Mr Blair's government.

"They wrecked the hunting bill and made sure that it became a bill that would not be passed," he said.

He added that the new group, which will be officially launched on 31 October, will carry out the traditional work of the league of filming hunts to "show the public just what happens".