Fox-hunting with dogs could return to rural Essex as campaigners call for the controversial activity to be made legal ten years after it was outlawed.
On the tenth anniversary of the much-debated Hunting Act, the Conservatives pledged to vote in Parliament on repealing the act.
At present, there is a total ban on hunting with dogs, which applies to fox-hunting, deer-hunting and hare-coursing with dogs. There have been 552 prosecutions under the Hunting Act between 2005 and 2013.
Despite the Act, hunting remains strong as a minority activity, according to the Countryside Alliance.
Tim Bonner, director of campaigns for Countryside Alliance, said: "On Boxing Day and opening meets there is a huge amount of support, with 40,000 to 45,000 hunting on a regular basis.
"We have had about the worst that could have been thrown at us and hunting has survived. There is no way now that the Hunting Act will be the end of hunting."
If the Act is indeed repealed, it will pave the way for the involvement of dogs at the annual New Year's Day hunt in Maldon.
The event is usually a contentious issue as members of the Essex Animal Defenders protest against the favourite past-time of the Essex Farmers Hunt in the High Street.
Michael Stephenson, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports said that pro-hunt lobbyists have found ways to get around the 'spirit' of the legislation, by using an exemption to allow them to send dogs underground to flush out foxes.
Each year around 300 different organisations arrange approximately 15,000 days of hunting, ranging from the well-known events of the Beaufort and Quorn hunts to small operations with packs of beagles followed by just three or four people.
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