Prime Minister Tony Blair re-ignited the tinderbox issue of fox hunting in the UK when he vowed on the BBC's Question Time: "It will be banned - as soon as we possibly can."

A ban on hunting with hounds will be debated, and is likely to be passed, when MPs return to Parliament in October.

The Scottish Parliament has already returned and has a private member's Bill drawn up. A ban on hunting with dogs may therefore happen in Scotland before the rest of the UK.

Country sports campaigners are gearing up for what they see as a battle for their very way of life.

Animal rights groups are making what they view as a final push to abolish the hunt.

BBC News Online explores some of the issues thrown up by new moves towards a ban.