'Prepared to go to jail'

Hundreds of thousands went to London to protest

The editor of Horse and Hound magazine says that thousands of people are prepared to defy any ban on hunting with hounds.

"Thousands of us are prepared to go to jail over this issue," Arnold Garvey wrote in Country Life on 10 August.

He said that any banning of fox hunting would raise serious civil liberty issues, adding: "Tony Blair, the man who two years ago promised unity and preached tolerance, has now proved himself an utter hypocrite who has kept his faith with the people of Kosovo but betrayed his own countrymen."

Julian Barnfield: "I'm prepared to go to jail"

Huntsman with the Cotswold Hunt, Julian Barnfield, counts himself as one of those thousands, saying: "I will not stop hunting, I am proud of what I do and I lead a very privileged life. I am prepared to go to jail for that life as well, several times if necessary."

The country sports lobby says it realises that many people do not like the thought of fox hunting, but they say that a ban on their sport would be undemocratic.

Mr Garvey went on: "We are starting to revolt and intend to make life uncomfortable for Blair. What he has failed to appreciate is the depth of passion country people feel for their way of life.

"We don't want a super-smooth, marketing-speak phoney as our leader. We want honesty, compassion, tolerance and leadership. We want to live in a Britain nwhere the rights of all minority groups are protected, not just the ones he sucks up to for votes."

"A ban will not be the end of it," says Mr Barnfield, "The Countryside March saw hundreds of thousand of us protesting in London. For every one of those people present, there was at least another one back home looking after the animals.

Horse and Hounds editor Arnold Garvey wrote in Country Life

"You cannot dictate to that amount of people and expect them to just lie back and take it. I am sure there will be more marches and protests, and the hunt will go on regardless.

"Just how exactly do they propose to police a ban on the hunt? If you propose to arrest people on suspicion on hunting, that is a serious civil liberties issue - and people in the countryside do not accept that the government has nothing better to invest its energies and tax payers' money in."

Animal rights organisations take a dim view of these sentiments, saying that they just serve to underline the "arrogance" of hunters.

The hunt is a precious way of life for its followers

The RSPCA's Alex Ross, spokesman for the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals, said: "If a ban becomes law, and it seems increasingly likely that it will, those involved in the hunt will simply have to find an alternative to killing the fox - or the deer, hare or whatever else they chose as their quarry.

"It is simply unacceptable as we approach the 21st Century that we should as a society continue to condone such activity. It is cruel and it is unnecessary.

"If those involved with the hunt are saying that they will act against the law, it merely highlights the arrogance they continue to display in the face of a large weight of public opinion against them."