There were concerns that if pro-hunters carried out threats of defying any ban put in place, it could lead to conflict with police similar to the clashes seen during the 1980s miners' strike. More than 3,000 people in Wales have so far signed a declaration pledging they will continue hunting illegally if there is a ban.

Thousands of hunt supporters defy angry protests to take part in what could be the last ever Boxing Day meetings. Or not.

Responding to a question at Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Blair said: "As I said before ... we will resolve it this parliament."

A Devon huntsman has amassed £2m in pledges to bring a defamation legal action against those who claim that hunting is cruel.

Only one out of every 50 Britons think banning or curtailing hunting with dogs should be a government priority, a poll of 1,000 people suggests.

Ed Johnson, AP. Blair's government has said the issue will soon be "resolved," but has not indicated whether it will try to force a ban onto the statute books, or instead try to steer a compromise that would allow hunting to continue under strict rules. Canada.

David Nunn, joint master of the Easton Harriers, said, "Last year there were about 500 people on foot going to the hunt and there was only one person there against hunting. I was hunting the Suffolk hunt recently and we had a lot of problems with hunting protesters. That happens when the weather is not too bad but they would rather be at home on Boxing Day eating and drinking and I think that shows their commitment."

"Protesters have been saying that this will be our last hunt for the last six or seven years and we are still here," said Richard de Prez. USA.

Sarah Hall. A row broke out yesterday over whether the government will be able to use the Parliament Act to push through a ban on hunting. According to Stephen Pound, Labour MP, "It absolutely the one single visceral issue for Labour backbenchers where we feel its a matter of credibility."

Martin Wainwright. Yesterday belonged to hunt supporters at the Badsworth's traditional Boxing Day meet in Wentbridge, part of the girdle of farms and parkland round the mining towns of Pontefract and Hemsworth. Followers and largely friendly sightseers outnumbered the 50-odd antis by at least five-to-one, and drowned the hisses when the 107 riders clattered off with loud cheers.

Leader. "Along with much of the nation, we regard foxhunting as a bizarre pursuit - but that is altogether different from wanting it to be banned."

Marie Woolf and Andrew Grice. Supporters of licensed hunts are to revive the Parliamentary battle over fox hunting when Lembit Opik, a Liberal Democrat MP and co-chair of the Middle Way group, brings in a Private Member's Bill to outlaw all suffering to wild mammals.

Terry Kirby, chief reporter. After a "largely ritualistic shows of force on both sides", the future lies with Lembit Opik's Private Members Bill and an NOP poll showing 2% of the public considers hunting should be given priority over other issues.

Alison Hardie, political correspondent. If the government does push ahead with a ban on fox-hunting, the results of a new poll show ministers may face an uphill struggle to convince voters it is a priority as a poll shows only 2 per cent of people believe that foxhunting should be a government priority.

John Innes. The Prince of Wales said a ban on fox hunting in Britain would never last, according to Donna Rosen, a guest at the opening of the British Museum?s Enlightenment Gallery last night.

Estimates of turnout varied wildly on both sides, with the Countryside Alliance claiming it had attracted more than 275,000 hunt supporters, who outnumbered protesters by 800-1 on the biggest day in the hunting calendar. Animal rights activists, including the League Against Cruel Sports, said thousands of protesters congregated around some 300 locations to hold largely peaceful demonstrations. Animal rights activists conceded that they were outnumbered but said they would not stop until hunting had been banned.

Chris Court, PA. Iain Harris, a hunt follower preparing to take legal action against those who accuse him of cruelty, claimed today he had been warned his house and dogs could be "torched", among other threats.

Hunt-by-hunt coverage of supporters and protestors.

Mick Hume. "Listening to the supposedly great debates dominating British politics today, with the threatened rebellions by Labour MPs over top-up fees or foundation hospitals, I am tempted to say: bring back the foxhunting debate!"

Benedict Brogan, political correspondent. Lord Donoughue, the former Labour minister, and Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP, will introduce a private Bill to ban all cruelty to wild mammals.

Leader. Compares crocodiles as a protected species in Australia's Northern Territories with a ban on hunting foxes.

Hunt supporters claimed a moral victory yesterday with an unprecedented turnout for the Boxing Day meets, 10% higher than last year and dwarfing the numbers in opposition, and with little or no disruption from protesters.

Graham Tibbetts. Only two per cent of people believe foxhunting should be a Government priority, according to a NOP poll released today. Of those questioned, just one in 50 said that Labour should concentrate on introducing the hunting Bill.

Nick Herbert. Gives the history of efforts to ban hunting and the current positions of the public, the joint parliamentary committee on human rights, hunt supporters who have signed the declaration of non-compliance and the police who will have to enforce a ban. Reminder of the fundamental truth that, in a democracy, laws can exist only by public consent.

Lucy Hagan. Hunt supporters and protesters were out in force yesterday. Comments from a hunt master, a rider and a hunt secretary. Photos of a young rider and a young protestor.

Thousands of scarlet-clad fox hunters rode out Friday for traditional post-Christmas hunts, defying the boos and jeers of protesters demanding an end to blood sports. USA.

Paul Carey. A hunt master (Dai Jones, 40, master of Carmarthenshire Hunt) and an anti-hunt campaigner (Ralph Cook, 44, from St Mellons, Cardiff, chairman of the Wales Alliance Against Cruel Sports) give their views on Boxing Day hunts.

Iain Harris, a Westcountry huntsman, has collected a fighting fund of more than £2 million which he will use to sue opponents of hunting labeling hunt supporters as 'cruel' for defamation in a class action suit.

Speaking on BBC1's Breakfast with Frost, Mr Hain insisted that the Government would bring an end to the long-running saga of whether or not hunting would be banned.