Is fox hunting on a par with dog fighting?

As horses and hounds gathered across the country on Boxing Day, more than a quarter of a million people turned out on foot and on horseback to support their local hunts. But this year, alongside the traditional images of red-coated huntsmen and their steeds, many of the national media quoted the statistic that 80 per cent of the British public would like fox hunting to remain illegal. Can we really take that statistic at face value, though?

This latest figure came from research carried out by Ipsos MORI, a reputable market research company whose data is generally seen as trustworthy.  The poll on hunting, which was carried out on behalf of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), the RSPCA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, asked 2,000 people the following question:

“Now a question about sports where animals are set on other animals to fight or kill them. These activities are currently illegal in the United Kingdom.