TENS of thousands of hunt supporters gathered across Britain today in the face of growing tensions with Sir Keir Starmer.
Festive Boxing Day meets went ahead as large crowds assembled across village greens and town squares to back the annual tradition.
This week the PM vowed to ban trail hunting as part of an animal welfare package.
The announcement came as new polling found more than two thirds of voters think Labour has neglected rural communities and don’t care about them.
The survey, conducted by ORB, also found that 76 per cent believe ministers prioritise urban issues over rural ones.
One of the largest meetings took place on the Duke of Beaufort’s estate near Badminton, Gloucestershire, where thousands watched to see dozens of horses and fox hounds go trail hunting.
Will Bryer, joint master of the Duke of Beaufort Hunt, said the countryside was “under assault and siege”, and said the Government would have a “fight” on its hands – warning it would get “messy”.
He said: “I just wonder whether our Government would have made that announcement had they predicted a turnout like this.
“It is somewhat ironic, is it not, that the Government choose to announce their intentions to destroy trail hunting just at a time of year when we reaffirm our beliefs.
“So, we’re under assault, we’re under siege and like all fights it’s going to get messy.
“But we must, we must stand united.” The Countryside Alliance said that Boxing Day is one of the most celebrated in the hunting calendar.
The campaign group estimated tens of thousands have attended 200 hunt meets this year in areas including Essex, Shropshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire.
They think it contributes more than £100mn a year to the rural economy.
Trail hunting was created to comply with the Hunting Act in 2004.
It involves a scent being sprayed into a rag, which is then dragged across the countryside by a human for dogs to search for and follow using their noses.
It replicates traditional hunting but with live animals no longer pursued.
Ministers and animal rights groups allege trail hunting is a cover for the original banned activity.
Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner said: “When Keir Starmer said that he ‘wanted a new relationship with the countryside’ we all assumed he meant a better one, but in 18 months his Government has alienated rural people and created the clear impression that it does not care about the countryside.
“Its warped priorities have put taxing family farms, raising rates for rural businesses and banning trail hunting above policies that would benefit rural people.
“While the partial changes to the family farm tax are a step in the right direction, the Government must desperately learn the fundamental lesson of this policy debacle, which is that it needs to work with the rural community – not legislate against it.”
An Environment Department spokeswoman said: “This Government is committed to banning trail hunting, which is too often used as a cover for illegal fox hunting, and has strong public support across the country.
“This builds on previous animal welfare reforms delivered by this Government, including giving police greater powers to prevent dog attacks on livestock, protecting farmers and animals alike.”
