Beaufort hunt vows to fight ban

The Beaufort Hunt costs £400,000 a year

One of the country's most famous hunts said the result of Monday's vote was just the start of its fight.

A ban would mean an end to the Beaufort Hunt roaming the Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset countryside, a spectacle seen since 1640.

Among those who don the blue tunic of the hunt are Prince of Wales, his sons and Camilla Parker Bowles, who now favours Beaufort over her old meeting in Wiltshire.

Joint master of Beaufort Hunt Captain Ian Farquhar said: "This vote shows Labour to be completely out of touch. The majority of people oppose a ban and opinion polls show only 2% of people think it's an important issue anyway.

The sensible Labour peers in the Lords will reject a ban. It is a party at odds with itself, voting on prejudice

Captain Ian Farquhar

"What it shows is that Labour is utterly at odds with the countryside - the percentage of farmers who support hunting is in the high 90s. This is an animal welfare issue. A Kent University survey has proved that hunting is good for conservation."

He said the "halfway measure" and shooting foxes as a control method would be far more cruel and added he was confident the ban would never happen.

He said: "The sensible Labour peers in the Lords will reject a ban. It is a party at odds with itself, voting on prejudice."

There are more than 600 members of the Duke of Beaufort's hunt, with a meet attracting some 200 riders on average and the Boxing Day event drawing some 2,000 people.

The hunt costs £400,000 to run each year, employs around 12 full-time staff and is said to almost wholly support a number of local businesses including saddlers and farriers.