Hunt supporters pledge revolt

Feb 21 2005

by Sarah Probert, Rural Affairs reporter

Thousands of hunt supporters are planning a mass revolt against the ban on hunting with hounds in the run-up to the General Election. On Saturday, the first day of the ban, all 250 hunts across England and Wales turned out in force and while organisers pledged to abide by the new law, supporters said future plans included hunting illegally. That threat was met with a warning yesterday from Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael who said they should not attempt to waste police time by testing the “simple” law. Sam Butler, joint master of the Warwickshire Hunt, responded: “We must allow legal challenges to continue but we have other things up our sleeve.” See today's Birmingham Post for more