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How foxhunting has beaten the ban

Source: guardian.co.uk Politics

Nov 08, 2009

Summary

Predictions for the sport were dire before the controversial Hunting Act of 2004 but participation has in fact grown

The predictions were dire ahead of the controversial hunting ban in 2004 – thousands of rural jobs would be lost, hounds would be destroyed and, vitally, interest in the ancient sport would wane as riders looked for less tame pursuits.

But, as the new season got fully underway yesterday, five years since the Hunting Act won royal assent, countryside experts said the sport has grown beyond recognition. One survey of 300 hunts by the Countryside Alliance suggested that more riders than ever are coming into the sport, more hounds are being bred, more people are being employed in the industry and good hunters are holding their price in an otherwise recession-hit horse market.

In what could be the last season under the ban after a pledge by the Tories to hold a vote on repealing it as one of the first acts of a Conservative government, there is, said Abigail Butcher of Horse and Hound magazine, "a real excitement and optimism, a really good vibe about

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