Yorkshire hunt members claim pursuit is flourishing as new generation turn out for Boxing Day events

The popularity of hunting is seeing a renaissance as the Countryside Alliance said members are younger and more diverse than ever before, with a survey showing more women and young people are taking part in legal events such as “trail” hunting than ten years ago.

Baroness Ann Mallalieu, the president of the Countryside Alliance, said the hunting ban “has little to do with animals or their welfare”, adding the anti-hunting lobby is about a “hatred of people”.

But polling for the League Against Cruel Sports showed continued widespread opposition to repealing the Hunting Act, which came into force in 2005 and outlawed the hunting of animals including foxes and deer with dogs.

Among the 250 meets taking place across the country yesterday was the Badsworth and Bramham Moor Hounds events at Aberford in Leeds and Wentbridge near Pontefract, as well as the Middleton Hunt in North Yorkshire.

Andrew McCloy, the chairman of The Badsworth and Bramham Moor Hounds, who attended the Wentbridge hunt, said that about 55 riders attended the meet with “hundreds” of spectators out to watch the event.

He added: “We seem to be well supported by all kinds of different people. The Boxing Day meets are very light-hearted. We have the hounds and children are welcome to come up to them. We have been doing trail hunting since 2005 and we have got the hang of it now.”

He said there was evidence of more younger people and women taking part in hunts at the group’s events yesterday. The Countryside Alliance said a survey of hunts found 70 per cent of hunts had more women hunting and 54 per cent had more young people than they did a decade ago.

Mr McCloy, 57, said: “I think it’s such an long time since hunting happened in the way it used to happen – we’ve been trail hunting for 12 or 13 years now – that the newcomers don’t know what it used to be like and are happy with what it’s like now.” Oliver Kent, aged 30, of Wetherby, a fellow member, said: “There is a great thrill in galloping on the horse and it is great fun for the horses as well.

“It’s good for them. It gives them confidence for eventing and is good for their fitness.

“There is no pressure whereas when you go competing you are always trying to win. When I go hunting I can be in the saddle for four or five hours. There is no other time when you get to spend that long riding so it’s good for my own fitness, balance and riding muscles. It is a bit more about the atmosphere on Boxing Day.”

Results of a survey of 2,000 people – including 170 in Yorkshire – for the League Against Cruel Sports which was released yesterday found 85 per cent did not think fox hunting should be made legal again, while opposition to legalising deer hunting stood at 87 per cent, and hare hunting and coursing at 90 per cent. Opposition to legalising fox hunting had risen from 73 per cent in 2008 to 85 per cent this year, the organisation said.

But Tim Bonner, the chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “This is completely discredited polling designed with a biased question which should be ignored.”

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