ABC News: Fox hunters pack out English fields despite ban threat.
- AFP. Fox hunting enthusiasts are out in force for the Boxing Day hunt, the biggest day in the blood sport's calendar, hoping that the British Government's determination to ban the pastime will falter. Australia.
- http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200312/s1016709.htm

Guardian: This year, the day belonged to the hounds
- Martin Wainwright. Yesterday belonged to hunt supporters at the Badsworth's traditional Boxing Day meet in Wentbridge, part of the girdle of farms and parkland round the mining towns of Pontefract and Hemsworth. Followers and largely friendly sightseers o
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/hunt/Story/0,2763,1112879,00.html

ESPN: British fox hunters, protesters face off
- "Protesters have been saying that this will be our last hunt for the last six or seven years and we are still here," said Richard de Prez. USA.
- http://espn.go.com/outdoors/sportingdogs/news/2003/1226/1694352.html

Scotsman.com News - UK - Boxing Day hunt on its last legs?
- Alison Hardie, political correspondent. If the government does push ahead with a ban on fox-hunting, the results of a new poll show ministers may face an uphill struggle to convince voters it is a priority as a poll shows only 2 per cent of people believe
- http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1412752003

The Sun: 275,000 rally to foxhunts
- Lucy Hagan. Hunt supporters and protesters were out in force yesterday. Comments from a hunt master, a rider and a hunt secretary. Photos of a young rider and a young protestor.
- http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2003600532,00.html

Telegraph: Hunts claim a record turnout by supporters
- Hunt supporters claimed a moral victory yesterday with an unprecedented turnout for the Boxing Day meets, 10% higher than last year and dwarfing the numbers in opposition, and with little or no disruption from protesters.
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/27/nhunt27.xml

Guardian: New row on legality of forcing hunt ban
- Sarah Hall. A row broke out yesterday over whether the government will be able to use the Parliament Act to push through a ban on hunting. According to Stephen Pound, Labour MP, "It absolutely the one single visceral issue for Labour backbenchers whe
- http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,11026,1112874,00.html

Western Mail: Act of barbarity, or valuable service?
- Paul Carey. A hunt master (Dai Jones, 40, master of Carmarthenshire Hunt) and an anti-hunt campaigner (Ralph Cook, 44, from St Mellons, Cardiff, chairman of the Wales Alliance Against Cruel Sports) give their views on Boxing Day hunts.
- http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/content_objectid=13757790_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-Act-of-barbarity--or-valuable-service--name_page.html

Scotsman: Hunt Attracts 275,000 Supporters, Says Countryside Alliance
- Estimates of turnout varied wildly on both sides, with the Countryside Alliance claiming it had attracted more than 275,000 hunt supporters, who outnumbered protesters by 800-1 on the biggest day in the hunting calendar. Animal rights activists, including
- http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2338514

Scotsman: Supporters and Protesters Square Up over Hunting
- Hunt-by-hunt coverage of supporters and protestors.
- http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2336972

BBC News Wales: Crowds turn out for hunts
- There were concerns that if pro-hunters carried out threats of defying any ban put in place, it could lead to conflict with police similar to the clashes seen during the 1980s miners' strike. More than 3,000 people in Wales have so far signed a declaratio
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3349091.stm

BBC News: Boxing Day hunters defy protests
- Thousands of hunt supporters defy angry protests to take part in what could be the last ever Boxing Day meetings. Or not.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3349565.stm

USA Today: British fox hunters, protesters face off over Boxing Day hunts
- Thousands of scarlet-clad fox hunters rode out Friday for traditional post-Christmas hunts, defying the boos and jeers of protesters demanding an end to blood sports. USA.
- http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-12-26-britain-hunting_x.htm

BBC News: Put NHS before hunting, poll says
- Only one out of every 50 Britons think banning or curtailing hunting with dogs should be a government priority, a poll of 1,000 people suggests.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3348481.stm

Telegraph: The hunt will meet for years to come
- Nick Herbert. Gives the history of efforts to ban hunting and the current positions of the public, the joint parliamentary committee on human rights, hunt supporters who have signed the declaration of non-compliance and the police who will have to enforce
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/12/26/do2601.xml

Telegraph: Cruelty ban plan to test anti-hunt MPs
- Benedict Brogan, political correspondent. Lord Donoughue, the former Labour minister, and Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP, will introduce a private Bill to ban all cruelty to wild mammals.
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/26/nhunt26.xml

Telegraph: Public give Bill low priority
- Graham Tibbetts. Only two per cent of people believe foxhunting should be a Government priority, according to a NOP poll released today. Of those questioned, just one in 50 said that Labour should concentrate on introducing the hunting Bill.
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/26/nhunt126.xml

Telegraph: Fox Dundee
- Leader. Compares crocodiles as a protected species in Australia's Northern Territories with a ban on hunting foxes.
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/12/26/dl2603.xml

BBC News: Huntsman to fight cruel claim
- A Devon huntsman has amassed £2m in pledges to bring a defamation legal action against those who claim that hunting is cruel.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/3343211.stm

Western Morning News: Anti-Hunt Groups 'Will Be Sued In New Year'
- Iain Harris, a Westcountry huntsman, has collected a fighting fund of more than £2 million which he will use to sue opponents of hunting labeling hunt supporters as 'cruel' for defamation in a class action suit.
- http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=103354&command=displayContent&sourceNode=103331&contentPK=8240407

Scotsman: Hunt Supporter Tells of Arson Attack Threats
- Chris Court, PA. Iain Harris, a hunt follower preparing to take legal action against those who accuse him of cruelty, claimed today he had been warned his house and dogs could be "torched", among other threats.
- http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2329765

Spiked: Phoney rebellions against Blair's empty policies
- Mick Hume. "Listening to the supposedly great debates dominating British politics today, with the threatened rebellions by Labour MPs over top-up fees or foundation hospitals, I am tempted to say: bring back the foxhunting debate!"
- http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006E015.htm

BBC News: Hunting issue 'will be resolved'
- Responding to a question at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Blair said: "As I said before ... we will resolve it this parliament."
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3287919.stm

Western Morning News: Hunt Issue Must Be Settled - Hain
- Speaking on BBC1's Breakfast with Frost, Mr Hain insisted that the Government would bring an end to the long-running saga of whether or not hunting would be banned.
- http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=103354&command=displayContent&sourceNode=103331&contentPK=7976036

Scotsman: Ban on fox hunting won't last, says Prince of Wales
- John Innes. The Prince of Wales said a ban on fox hunting in Britain would never last, according to Donna Rosen, a guest at the opening of the British Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery last night.
- http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1367362003