Large crowds turned out to watch hunts across Oxfordshire at what could be the controversial field sport's last Christmas gatherings.
A large crowd turns out in Chipping Norton to watch the Heythrop Hunt set off
Up to 2,000 spectators - some in designer wellies - watched the Old Berkshire Hunt in Faringdon yesterday (Mon Dec 27), while the Heythrop Hunt's meeting in Chipping Norton attracted a record crowd, according to hunt organisers.
Hunt meetings are traditionally held on Boxing Day, but are moved to Monday if this falls on a Sunday.
The future of hunting looks uncertain. The House of Commons invoked the little-used Parliament Act to ban the sport from February 18, but Attorney General Lord Goldsmith confirmed he would not fight an application for an injunction from pro-hunting group, the Countryside Alliance.
That could mean foxhunting could continue in England and Wales for another year while the application is considered.
Richard Green, chairman of the regional Countryside Alliance, said support for hunting was highlighted by the number of people attending the events.
He said yesterday's hunts would not be the last, adding: "The ban is going to be tested in the courts. Until then, we expect hunting to continue.
"It has been a testing few months. Let's prove this banning law is unsound, flawed and unworkable."
The Old Berkshire Hunt also went ahead with its traditional Christmas Eve meeting at Kingston Lisle, near Wantage, where it was joined by leading national hunt jockeys.
Huntsman Michael Scott, 41, said the ban would mean he would lose his job and house.
The father-of-two said: "It will mean a whole way of life gone. I have hunted since I was 15. I don't have any other qualifications. I do it because I love it." Mr Scott, who lives with his wife Mandy and daughter Katie, three, and son Archie, four, in a cottage at the kennels, said banning hunting was "unjust".
Former hunt jockey Luke Harvey, now broadcaster and owner of the Blowing Stone Inn where the pre-Christmas hunt met for breakfast, said: "Hunting is the root of national hunt racing. It's where our leading hunt jockeys come from. It's where they hone their skills ."
One of the joint masters of the Heythrop Hunt, Tonya Wood, described the mood at the Chipping Norton meeting as buoyant.
She said: "We came out today because we knew there would be so many people there, although we couldn't really hunt as the frost would have damaged the horses legs.
"We'll absolutely be here next year. I think the political will is going to fail. It's all very well in the hothouse at Westminster but it won't work in reality. They think we're all foaming at the mouth and we dress up to kill foxes. If I was dressing up to kill a fox, I'd wear a boiler suit."
Penny Little, of the Oxfordshire Branch of Protect Our Wild Animals, believes the legislation will be carried through. She said: "It's excruciating waiting for the ban, knowing they're still committing these atrocities.
"The hunters are doing what they do so well, shouting extremely loudly and behaving in an arrogant way. They're trying to create confusion but it should really be pretty straightforward.
"I'm afraid they're going to have to wake up to the real world, when they'll find out they're not above the law and they're no better than a kid on a council estate committing antisocial behaviour."
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