More foxes will die after the law forced hunters to switch from hounds to guns at the weekend, it was claimed last night.
Figures gathered by the Countryside Alliance suggest as many foxes were killed over the weekend by being shot as with the traditional method of chasing them down with a pack.
Hunting with dogs was outlawed last Thursday but all over the North there was a huge turnout of riders and supporters at the weekend.
Under the terms of the Animal Welfare Act hunts can still use two dogs to flush out foxes, which can then be shot.
The national tally for Saturday - the first day of hunting since the ban - showed that at least 90 foxes had been shot.
A Countryside Alliance spokesman said: "This is about average for the time of year, but not all hunts employed a gun at the weekend. Many simply went out on a hack instead.
"That suggests the eventual figure could be higher stillÂ… It's common sense. There is practically no chance of escape for a fox when faced with a gun."
Forty hunt meets took place in the region and at least three in Northumberland - Alnwick, Morpeth and Tynedale - killed a fox on Saturday.
Local hunt supporters say this makes a mockery of the Government's animal-welfare claims. More than 500 people gathered at the Pastures beneath Alnwick Castle to see off a 150-horse contingent of the Percy Hunt, a turn-out three times higher than the usual calendar highlight of New Year's Day.
Chairman Charles Bucknall said: "A fox was caught legally with two hounds and a gun. That shows what a complete farce the whole Act is.
"Overall the event went extremely well; there were a lot of families there and it demonstrates the sheer level of support hunting has here in rural Northumberland."
At Kirkwhelpington more than 100 riders from the Morpeth Hunt set off from the Dyke Neuk pub, which was packed with supporters.
Joint master James Cookson said: "Today we proved to the world that animal welfare has never been the reason behind this crass piece of legislation. We care about the fox, we care about the countryside. We won't be pushed around by a school bully of a government, and we will fight on to have our right to hunt returned to us."
The village of Matfen played host to a gathering estimated to be more than 1,000, as 120 members of the Tynedale Hunt prepared for the chase.
Richard Dodd, regional chairman for the Countryside Alliance and a farmer at Belsay, was there.
He said: "A fox was killed legally after going to ground and shot. If it was the other way, with hounds, it would have probably got away."
Police said all hunts in the region had passed lawfully and without incident, with the exception of a complaint about traffic at Matfen. There was no anti-hunt activity.
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