Dozens of pro-hunting supporters staged a demonstration in Edinburgh as MSP Mike Watson outlined his private members bill that will be introduced when the Parliament returns next month.

BBC Scotland's David Nisbet reports on the hunting bill

The legislation, which has been drawn up in consultation with the Advocates for Animals pressure group, would outlaw hunts which use dogs to kill foxes.

It would also ban hare coursing and the use of terriers to attack wild mammals underground.

But the law would allow farmers to use dogs to control rodents and neither shooting nor fishing will be affected.

Watson: "Large majority" backs the bill

The bill, which is being co-sponsored by the SNP MSP Tricia Marwick, is being drafted at the moment and should go before the Scottish Parliament in the autumn.

Mr Watson, who said he was confident his proposals have the support of the majority of MSPs, has rejected a compromise which would see fox hunting allowed under strict controls.

He said the practice was barbaric and should be outlawed completely.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: "Polls have shown - and having talked to individual MSPs - there is a very definite majority in favour of carrying through the ban."

Mike Watson: "I have the support of a very large majority of people"

Mr Watson also said his bill was supported by "a very large majority of people" throughout Scotland.

"This bill is about civilising the way in which people approach the accepted need to control the number of foxes which there are around Scotland.

"Hunting doesn't have to end. It is the practice of tearing the quarry to pieces at the end of the hunt that I am seeking to end," he added.

Dozens turned out to protest

MSPs on the government side are to be given a free vote on the issue, which could see Scotland leading the rest of the UK in banning the sport.

But the Conservatives have signalled they will oppose the bill and pro-hunt lobbyists have promised a UK-wide fight against what they see as interference in rural affairs.

A spokesman for the Scottish Landowner's Federation said they remain worried about the disruption to predator control threatened by the bill.

'Humane' hunting

Alan Murray, Director of the Scottish Countryside Alliance, said they would examine the details of the bill but argued that hunting with dogs was an "effective and humane" way of controlling foxes.

"It is a legal activity that we take part in to control the life of foxes in the countryside. We do not take pleasure in the death of animals," he said.

Mr Watson, who represents Glasgow Cathcart, has previously told the BBC he does not want to get drawn into a round of name-calling with the pro-hunt lobbyists.

"The question of hunting with hounds is not simply an issue for those people who live in the rural areas. It is a matter, I would suggest, of conscience," he said.

Mr Watson also hit back at the Scottish Landowners Federation which described him as a "stereotypical urban politician".

"I hope we are not going to get into name-calling. That would be rather depressing," he said.

The Tories assert the impact on 14,000 Scottish jobs supported by hunting has not been thought through.