Hunters flock to St Stephen's Day meeting

Fox hunters from across the North gathered today for one of the largest meetings of the year.

St Stephen's Day outings in every county were expected to attract up to 10,000 participants and spectators.

Legislation in 2004 banned the sport in England and Wales but it continues to attract a strong following in the North.

Ronan Gorman, chief executive of Countryside Alliance Ireland, said: “For a lot of people the Boxing Day hunt is as much a part of Christmas as the turkey on the table.

“The field will be swelled because a lot of people who don’t go at other times of the year go on Boxing Day because of the family atmosphere.

“There will be three generations in many families going along with a lot of children and the number of children is increasing every year.”

Anti-hunt campaigners said dogs used to chase foxes tear the animals to shreds.

The government outlawed hunting amid impassioned protests in 2004 but the Countryside Alliance has led opposition to a similar move in the North.

By the time legislation was passed in the House of Commons, the Northern Ireland Assembly had been established and the hunting issue had been devolved to that body.

The Assembly never debated fox hunting legislation.

“We estimate that hunting is worth around £30m (€44.7m) to the Northern Ireland economy every year,” Mr Gorman added. “It goes into things like saddlery and pony clubs.”

He said it attracted members from all economic backgrounds, from the unemployed to wealthy businessmen. He added there was a cross-section of ages involved, with several generations taking part.

The largest fox hunts will be in the Banbridge and Newry areas of Co Down while North Down has a Boxing Day outing at Newtownards where a fox is not actually released.

Co Antrim also holds a number of major events.