MORE than 1,000 hunt supporters from Cheshire took part in Wednesday's demonstration out-side the Houses of Parliament. But it is the anti-bloodsports campaigners who were left celebrating as a ban on hunting came one step closer. MPs voted with an overwhelming majority to pass the Hunting Bill and, if the House of Lords doesn't make changes to it, hunting with dogs for species such as deer, foxes and mink will end on July 31, 2006. The House of Lords has defeated past Bills, but the Government has said it would use the Parliament Act to force it into law this time. That would bring to an end a centuries old tradition still practised by many Mid Cheshire residents. Among those protesting in London on Wednesday was Richard Thomas, joint master of the Sandiway-based Cheshire Hunt, who claims the battle to maintain hunting with hounds is far from over. Mr Thomas was pleased with the support in Parliament Square, with 10,000 people turning out on a weekday. He said: 'We have seen the support before and we will see it again. We are disappointed the House doesn't want to listen and the Bill is going to go though. Whether the Parliament Act works, we will have to wait and see.' Determined to fight on, he said: 'We have never thought we were at the end of the line. We will continue and the Countryside Alliance is fairly confident of challenging the Parliament Act if it is used and it goes to the Lords. They have tried to ban hunting before and have never managed to do it yet.' He is not prepared to say whether he would defy the law by hunting if it was banned, as thousands have pledged. 'Let's cross that bridge when we come to it,' said Mr Thomas, who stressed that hunting was part of the rural way of life for a broad spectrum of people. He added: 'A ban would certainly not help the rural economy. It would lead to a loss of jobs. There are an awful lot of people who, through all sorts of ways, earn their income from hunting.' Mr Thomas said a ban would mean 90-100 hunting dogs having to be destroyed from the Cheshire Hunt and perhaps 300 being put down across the county. He said the idea of them being re-homed was a non-starter because they are pack animals. The North West League Against Cruel Sports welcomed the news that MPs had voted by 356 votes to 166 to ban hunting with hounds. Spokeswoman Jeanne Young said: 'In just a few years' time, people will wonder how such a barbaric pastime was allowed to continue into the 21st Century. Not a single job needs to be lost or hound killed as a result of the ban, provided North West hunts act responsibly and switch to drag hunting.' But Cheshire Hunt spokeswoman Ellie Boddington said the hunting fraternity strongly believes that its way of controlling the fox population is the best and most humane. She said: 'Throughout Britain around 35,000 foxes are killed each year by various hunts, which is proof itself that their numbers need to be controlled. 'Those that are killed are in the main the weakest, most likely the ones that would end up getting wounded by shooting and suffering much more lingering types of death. 'Fox numbers need to be kept down and for generations that has been achieved by hunting. We see no reason for change.' | 
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