Simon de Bruxelles (left), Times correspondent, watched as the Avon Vale hunt rode out on the last day that foxhunting with hounds is legal in England and Wales
“There were 50 members on horseback and another 50 on foot who gathered this morning at Spye Park in Wiltshire, not a bad turnout for a drizzly Thursday.
“Before they set out Jonathan Seed, the master of the hunt, made a short, emotional speech in which he said they had been victims of tyranny and oppression. However, he was keen to stress that hunting wasn’t over, it was merely suspended.
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“They handed out hunt badges to all the children which is quite an honour, usually you would have to have been hunting for 40 years or so before you would be entitled to wear the badge.
“All of the people there were pretty upset.
“When the ban was first announced there was a lot of talk among hunts about how they were going to openly flout the law and challenge police to stop them. The emphasis has changed now that the legislation has appeared on paper.
“Instead, they are saying there are loopholes which allow them to carry on hunting in some form. It won’t involve chasing live foxes, one option is to have the hounds following a trail that has been laid.
“I think the general feeling is that they are going to keep the hunt intact and the hounds alive until a Conservative government is elected and the legislation is repealed.
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“Many were saying it was just like the war, when there was six years without hunting, but they remained in no doubt that the ban was temporary.”