Fox hunters defiant after vote for ban

Hunts across Scotland have come out in force in a mass show of defiance after MSPs voted overwhelmingly to ban the centuries old pursuit.

Almost 40 mounted riders from the Duke of Buccleuch Hunt gathered in the Scottish Borders at St Boswells.

It was one of a number of Scottish hunts meeting after the signal from MSPs that time was running out on the pursuit.

The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill is expected to gain Royal Assent in about a month.

Huntsmen from East Anglia and the north of England travelled to the Scottish borders to show solidarity with their brethren.

The Duke of Buccleuch Hunt, one of the oldest in Scotland, was established in 1826.

It's patron, the 9th Duke of Buccleuch and 11th Duke of Queensberry, is one of the UK's biggest landowners, and lives at the grandiose Bowhill House, in Selkirk.

The hunt met at Overwhitlaw farm, an 800-acre estate near St Boswells, owned by Bryan Walling, 63.

Mr Walling said his first spring lamb had been killed yesterday by a fox and he hoped the creature would be killed today.

Huntsman Trevor Adams, 43, from St Boswells, whose responsibility it is to liaise with farmers and arrange outings for the Buccleuch, remained upbeat after his job was effectively criminalised by yesterday's vote.

The father-of-two, who left school at 15 to join the Buccleuch Hunt, said: "Because MSPs have turned down compensation that gives our case a better chance with the European Court of Human Rights, our lawyers are looking at it."

The legislation will make it an offence to use dogs to hunt wild mammals, effectively ruling out mounted fox hunting, hare coursing and fox baiting and threatening at least 300 jobs in the Borders alone.