Hunt supporters attacked Keir Starmer‘s plan to ban trail hunting with thousands gathering at Boxing Day hunts across the country yesterday.

Just days before Christmas, the Government had announced plans to ban the rural past-time with a consultation set to launch next year.

The Countryside Alliance said Labour had ‘alienated rural people’, with a poll suggesting 65 per cent of voters think the Government unfairly neglects country communities.

Trail hunting, introduced after the creation of the Hunting Act 2004, involves a scent being sprayed onto a rag which is then dragged across the countryside by a huntsman for the hounds to chase. It replicates traditional hunting methods but live animals are no longer pursued.

Campaigners defend the practice saying that hunts contribute more than £100million a year to the rural economy and form part of the social fabric of rural life.

Boxing Day is one of the most celebrated days in the hunting calendar with communities turning out to greet riders and hounds before they set off.

Supporters estimate that tens of thousands of people attended about 200 hunt meets this year, with huge crowds being reported in Matching Green in Essex, Ludlow in Shropshire, and Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire.

One of the largest meetings took place on the Duke of Beaufort’s estate near Badminton, Gloucestershire, where thousands watched dozens of horses and fox hounds go trail hunting.

Nigel Farage enjoys a beer as he mixes with members of the public waiting at Chiddingstone Castle for the annual Boxing Day hunt

Riders with horses and hounds take part in the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt Boxing Day Meet

Hounds meet members of the public during the Tedworth Hunt’s Boxing Day meet in Pewsey, Wiltshire

Will Bryer, joint master of the hunt, claimed the countryside was ‘under assault and siege’.

He said: ‘I just wonder whether our Government would have made that announcement had they predicted a turnout like this.

‘It is somewhat ironic that the Government choose to announce their intentions to destroy trail hunting just at a time of year when we reaffirm our beliefs.

‘So, we’re under assault, we’re under siege and like all fights it’s going to get messy.’

Nigel Farage vowed to ‘fight and stop this monstrous attack on our freedoms’. The Reform UK leader attended a hunt at Chiddingstone Castle in Kent, where he called on the Government to change course and protect a tradition that has ‘been going on for centuries’.

He said: ‘The Boxing Day hunt meet is one of my most happy events of my year. Good people of all ages and classes meeting in a rural location. If they ban this, they may as well ban horseriding and dogwalking. Labour MPs in country seats will rebel.’

Among the other meetings across the country was the Grove Rufford Hunt, which gathered in the main street at Bawtry in South Yorkshire. More than 100 riders set out for the nearby village of Scaftworth. Chairman and master Jane Bowen said: ‘It’s a wonderful, wonderful turnout.’

Asked about the recent Government crackdown proposals, she said: ‘As we all know, they’re bombarding the farmers with lots of legislation, and they are against the rural communities – we must hold tight and fight them back.’

A young girl dressed as a fox was among those taking part in the Boxing Day hunt that set off from Meonstoke in Hampshire

Two members of the field enjoy a Stirrup Cup during the annual Boxing Day meet at Matching Green, Essex

The traditional Boxing Day hunt takes place in Corbridge, Northumberland this morning, with the Tynedale Hunt gathering

She added: ‘We are misunderstood. Please leave us alone.’

Georgina Owen, joint-master of the Ludlow Hunt, said: ‘The countryside is facing an unbelievable barrage of attacks from Westminster that will destroy everything that we know and love about our way of life and its communities. We want a government that stimulates the economy and improves people’s standard of life, not one that controls it.’

Susan Simmons, joint-master of Holcombe Hunt near Blackburn, said: ‘We’re proud to see overwhelming support for keeping alive a centuries’ old royal tradition.’

Sir Keir has been warned he faces a considerable task in rebuilding trust with rural communities after he damaged faith with changes to inheritance tax on farms, before performing a partial U-turn this week.

A poll suggested only 36 per cent agreed or strongly agreed the Government cares about people in the countryside while 76 per cent believed it prioritised urban issues over rural ones.

Labour is to launch a consultation early in the new year on how to ban trail hunting.