HUNTSMEN may have attended their final Boxing Day meet if hunting with hounds is banned in 2003.

The Government has vowed to push on with its hunting bill, and ministers could force legislation through the House of Lords using the Parliament Act.

It is feared the 386 anti-hunting MPs could hold out for a total ban, rejecting a proposal from the minister for rural affairs, Alun Michael, to licence hunts.

This "middle way" intends to end cruelty, leading to an immediate ban on hare coursing and stag hunting, but not shooting, falconry or fishing.

Hunts would have to make the case for continuing, proving there is no local alternative to removing foxes which is less cruel.

"Foxes have got to be controlled and culled," argues Michael Bannister, joint master of the Pendle Forest and Craven Hunt. "If they are not controlled they do an awful lot of damage.

"It is terribly difficult to kill a fox with a shotgun. You would have to be a crack shot, otherwise it is just injured and would have a terrible death. Gassing and poisoning are totally indiscriminate as other animals live in foxes' earths."

But why make a sport of pursuing a defenceless animal?

"You need a pack to be able to hunt effectively, one hound would lose the scent, whereas the pack all work together and get on the scent," explained Mr Bannister, of Coniston Cold.

Anti-hunt protesters argue that hunts rarely catch the fox and so are putting the animal under unnecessary stress.

The Pendle Forest and Craven Hunt admits it has just a 10 per cent success rate but argues this is sufficiently effective to control the fox population without hunting it to extinction.

"If hunting was stopped the fox population would disappear totally. Currently the fox population is 'kept' to manageable proportions. If there was no hunting keepers, shooters and farmers would wipe out the species," said Mr Bannister.

Adding the conservation issue into the argument is surprising to many, but pro-hunt supporters claim that in arable areas, the hunt creates habitat for wildlife through the planting of "covers" or woodland, where otherwise there would be acres of crops.

While last year's bill to ban hunting outright was defeated in the House of Lords, hunting with horses was banned by the Scottish Parliament. North of the border hunting still continues with hounds and guns - but huntsmen are on foot.

"It's ridiculous," said Mr Bannister. "It is neither one thing nor the other. The sad thing about all this is that it's a political thing and people think, totally wrongly, that it is a class thing. There's a perception of 'what right have they to do this, they're a lot of toffs' but all sorts of people hunt, it is not at all elite."

The Pendle Forest and Craven Hunt was formed in 1945, and hunts twice a week throughout the season attracting average "fields" of up to 40 riders, rising to 80 on a Boxing Day.

John Henderson, of Stainton Cotes, a member of the Country Landowners' Association, said: "It's a complete cross section of humanity and always has been.

"I think the whole situation is terribly sad. The big problem is that there are fixed views on either wing and people don't want to be confused with the facts."

Huntsman Richard Lloyd has been with the hunt for 14 years. He lives in a tenanted cottage, caring for the 54 strong pack, and says it has been a worrying time for him as MPs debate whether to take his livelihood away.

"If there was any cruelty involved I wouldn't be doing it. I have seen foxes stop and chase hares when we are out hunting them - it's as if they are taking the mickey out of us. Foxes hunt for themselves.

"In Scotland the foxes are being annihilated. I wouldn't want to hunt the last fox in the area. We want to keep a steady balance. Great Britain has the healthiest population of red foxes.

"A lot of people don't want to understand. People think there are 35 dogs on one fox but every dog has a different scenting ability, it is only one hound which gets hold of the fox on the back of the neck, it's instantaneous."

Richard knows that his hounds would be put down if the total ban came in as they would not make pets. "They're pack animals. They won't go on their own. I have tried it with old hounds, they just pine away," he explained.

"This is the only job I know. I have spent 15 years training to get to where I am now. It's a way of life for me. It's been a worrying time. But there's a lot more people in favour now than there were two years ago. The Countryside Alliance has made people more aware of the issues."

David Horton, head groom at Coniston Hall for 27 years, knows that if hunting was banned there would be less jobs for grooms but also fears for the horses.

"Every horse that hunts and every hound is very well looked after otherwise it couldn't do the job," he said."If a ban came in we would have less horses."

However Mr Bannister is confident the Pendle Forest and Craven Hunt will be granted a licence to continue hunting.

"I have no problem with the licensing provided it's done on a proper basis and is not politically biased. If people do stupid things they will have their licence taken away.

"We believe hunting with hounds is the least cruel way of culling the quarry because gassing and poisoning is indiscriminate and just an awful death for the fox. Animals caught in snares have bitten their own legs off to escape. If we were to shoot them, 90 per cent of people would not kill a fox cleanly."

And if an outright ban was introduced Mr Bannister says he for one would break the law and continue hunting.

He said: "Four hundred thousand people went on the Countryside March and I do believe that there are a lot of angry people out there. But everyone is being very cool and making sure we do not break the law.

"If a banning bill did come about, I think it would be incredibly difficult to police. I personally would want to carry on and I think you would find this across the country. The countryside would be up in arms. This won't be the last Boxing Day hunt - we will be back again next year."