Cottesmore Hunt meets at Exton Park and Fitzwilliam Milton Hunt gathers in Stilton on Boxing Day

Crowds gathered at a countryside estate for an annual hunt meet.

The Cottesmore Hunt’s Boxing Day meet was held at Exton Park and drew in hundreds of people.

There were dozens of riders, including children on ponies, and a pack of hounds at the annual meet, which has been taking place for more than 356 years.

Hunt secretary Clare Bell said: “We were absolutely delighted with the turn out.

“There were 300 people on foot and 65 horses.”

The event was also met with opposition as more than a dozen saboteurs from Northamptonshire attended as well as members of the group ‘Locals against the Cottesmore Hunt’, which held a demonstration at the main entrance.

Saboteur groups often follow hunts around the countryside, documenting what goes on and sharing their views on social media.

A spokesperson for the Northants Hunt Saboteurs said they attended to represent people who want to put an end to hunts.

Each year the Cottesmore Hunt’s meet raises money for the charity ‘For Rutland’, which holds a collection on the day with volunteers who talk about the support they offer.

Money raised goes towards funding advisors who help people with long-term illnesses.

This year donations totalled to more than £1,000.

The Fitzwilliam Milton Hunt also gathered for its traditional Boxing Day meet in the centre of Stilton.

Joint master Philip Baker said: “It is wonderful to see so many members of the public supporting us.

“As ever, we thank the residents of Stilton for allowing us to meet here.”

Earlier this month we asked on our website, lincsonline.co.uk, if hunts should meet at Christmas.

Out of the 2,223 voters, 84 per cent believe hunts should not meet at Christmas while 16 per cent were in support of the tradition.

These results were correct at the time of publication.

Hunting foxes with dogs or by using traps and snares was made illegal in England and Wales in 2004 under the Hunting Act.

The legal method of hunting with hounds involves a fox-scented trail being laid by a horse rider, which the hounds follow through the countryside.

Labour has recently expressed an interest in bringing forward further legislation to ‘strengthen’ the Hunting Act.

Countryside Alliance chief executive, Tim Bonner, said that rather than legislating to ban hunting again the party should “right the wrongs of the past” and end its “running attack on rural communities”.

Coinciding with its Boxing Day hunt meets, the Countryside Alliance and British Hound Sports Association launched its Action for Hunting initiative to create ‘an army’ of supporters, to oppose any new restrictions on hunting.

Photos at the Cottesmore Hunt meet were taken by photographer Chris Lowndes and are available to buy here.

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