The BBC's Robert Pigott: "The fox was no match for the hounds"

It follows studies on a cub called Copper, saved from a hunt in west Sussex.

A vet who examined the animal says without treatment it would have died of shock.

Now campaigners say stress suffered by hunted foxes can be fatal. But supporters of hunting say it is part of the natural order and criticised saboteurs for intervening.

A policemen lent his helmut to guard the rabbit hole

Copper escaped the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray hunt by hiding in a rabbit hole. Hunt saboteurs distracted the hounds and a policeman gave his helmet to shield the tunnel entrance.

Protesters wrapped the badly injured cub in a jacket and took him to a nearby vet who gave treatment for bite injuries. The fox, who was later given his name, had a racing heart, blood in the urine and was in a coma.

But Bob Baskerville, a vet who belongs to the Countryside Alliance, said the fox would have suffered more stress when it was handled and transported by humans.