Hundreds of hunters stage a very English rebellion

While politicians debated their future 80 miles away in Westminster, hundreds of hunt supporters gathered yesterday in a frozen field in East Anglia to do what they now do best - launch a very English rebellion.

While politicians debated their future 80 miles away in Westminster, hundreds of hunt supporters gathered yesterday in a frozen field in East Anglia to do what they now do best - launch a very English rebellion.

They came from far and wide in horse-boxes and estate cars to the village of Higham, near Colchester, on the border between Essex and Suffolk, to declare that a ban on hunting with dogs would be met by mass insurrection in the countryside.

The Countryside Alliance, the body which is leading the fight against a ban, described the gathering of 21 hunts from across six counties as a show of strength, and itattracted sufficient support for a total of about 400 horsemen and women to be able to ride off into the winter sunshine to chase a fox or two.

By mid-afternoon, a single fox, allegedly old and lame had been dispatched to the great chicken coop in the sky andbetween 1,000 and 1,500 hunt supporters had whipped themselves into an English frenzy of polite determination.

Amid the waxed jackets and slices of fruit cake, there was a distinct whiff of defiance and the belief that the House of Commons is out of touch with public opinion.

At stake, according to the organisers of the rally, was freedom of the individual and tolerance, which was being jeopardised by Westminster's "bigotry and prejudice''.

Little surprise, therefore, that the leaders of this battle for freedom should have claimed that they felt strongly enough about the issue to go to prison.

George Bowyer, the joint master of the Fitzwilliam Foxhounds, based near Peterborough, told the gathering: "We are not just a small minority of silly people in silly costumes sitting on their horses.

"This ban is unjustified and unjustifiable because it will turn law-abiding people like myself into criminals.

"I will not stand by and see the sport I love die. I will break the law, continue to hunt and damn the consequences.''

Robin Page, farmer, author and also presenter of the One Man and His Dog television programme, said: "I have never hunted before but I believe in the freedom of others to do so. If it is banned, I will join a hunt at the earliest opportunity, and I will not pay any fines, and I will go to prison if necessary.''

The extent to which such sentiments were empty sabre-rattling will become clear in the coming months if a Labour government chooses to enforce a Commons vote for a ban over the likely opposition of the House of Lords.

But certainly the saboteurs of the anti-hunt lobby must have felt yesterday that their battle was nearly won.

Despite fears of clashes, in the event only a single car-load of demonstrators turned up at the rally and rapidly departed under the watchful gaze of Suffolk Police. The only organised opposition to the gathering was an anti-hunt campaigner brought in for the occasion to be interviewed by the BBC.

The strength of feeling among those facing the demise of their pastime was, however, undeniable.

One woman, on the brinkof tears as she patted a foxhound from the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, said: "This dog will have to be put down, the livelihood of thousands ended, and yet the Government expects our stiff upper lip and respect for the law to allow them to tread all over us.

"Let me tell you, this law will not be respected.''

Christopher Trotman, 10, whose father, David, has been a professional huntsman for 32 years, vowed he would follow in his footsteps. "I want to continue a family tradition," said Christopher. "I love the dogs. I don't want to see them die, and they will if this law is passed.''

Among the speakers at the gathering was Professor Twink Allen, a huntsman and respected vet from the Equine Fertility Centre in Newmarket, who admitted that a fox would feel "distress'' when it is killed by a pursuing dog pack.

But Professor Allen, whose son-in-law is the jockey Frankie Dettori, insisted: "That short moment of distress is nothing compared to the many thousands more foxes who die in agony from gunshot wounds and road accidents every year.''

The climax of the gathering of East Anglia's hunting clans from Essex to Norfolk, Bedfordshire to Suffolk, came shortly after 1pm, with the departure of the 400-strong hunt - timed to ensure maximum exposure on the lunchtime news bulletins, and fortified by the traditional shot of port.

Two hours later, the huntsmen returned, heaving the fox they had killed.

According to some of the more outlandish opinions on offer, the kill was an example of how chasing across the countryside in pursuit of a wild animal was vital to the survival of the human race.

Mark Howard, a Norfolk gamekeeper, and representative at the event of the Union of Country Sports Workers, said: "We have no choice other than to hunt. Man is at the top of the food chain - he has got to stay there.'' The Countryside Alliance, which insisted yesterday that its supporters were seen as "reasonable people'' with reasonable arguments, admitted such claims were excessive. But the organisation said it was confident that a vote by politicians in London would have no currency in the shires.

With war about to be declared, Ian Finch, secretary of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt, told the rally: "Now is the time to go hunting.'' As he spoke, a lone dissenter muttered: "Yeah, only while you have the time.''