Thousands attend pro-hunting demo

Countryside campaigners are lobbying to save what they say is a way of life

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Several thousand pro-fox hunting supporters turned out for one of Britain's biggest ever countryside demonstrations.

About 15,000 were estimated by the organisers, the Scottish Countryside Alliance, to have turned out for the March on the Mound in Edinburgh on Sunday.

It was only beaten by the 300,000 who attended a rally in London three years ago.

The demonstration, aimed at drawing attention to the difficulties faced by rural communities, came a day before the government officially lifts a temporary ban on hunting in an effort to stop the spread of foot-and-mouth.

The protesters' grievances include a Bill to ban hunting with dogs in Scotland, the aftermath of the foot-and-mouth outbreak and the Scottish Land Reform Bill, which proposes to open up the countryside and extend the rights of communities to buy their land.

Pro-hunters from around the world attended the event, including those from the UK, Australia, Norway and Europe.

Alex Armstrong, spokesman for the Scottish Countryside Alliance told Reuters: "We are hugely heartened by the turnout. There are people as far as the eye can see."

Among those who attended was Philip Fergus, 33, a kennel huntsman for the Eglinton Hunt in Ayrshire, who fears he will face redundancy if the Bill to ban fox hunting is passed. "This is about prejudice and ignorance of a country way of life and has nothing to do with animal welfare," he told the UK news agency, the Press Association.

A wide range of organisations, including the National Farmers' Union, the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, gamekeeping and other countryside bodies were supporting the march.

The Scottish Campaign Against Hunting With Dogs issued a survey on Sunday which said a majority of people described hunting with dogs as either "cruel" or "unnecessary."

It downplayed the numbers attending the march, saying only 11,000 took part. Les Ward, of the Scottish anti-hunt campaign, said: "The organisers are sure to be disappointed by today's turnout.

"The Countryside Alliance hoped to get as many as 200,000, but their protest today has proved to be something of a damp squib."