AS the hunters gathered on the frozen village green, the mood was somewhere between despair and defiance.

Hundreds of people had braved the early morning chill to mingle with the horses and hounds at the start of the Zetland Hunt, at Aldbrough St John, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, for one of the most colourful dates in the calendar.

Excited children danced playfully around the paws of the hounds, while dozens of parents captured the village's traditional Boxing Day scene on camera.

It is a tradition which stretches back to the 18th Century but, as the wealth of literature handed out to bystanders confirmed, it could soon be coming to an end.

Controversial measures to outlaw hunting with dogs cleared the first hurdle in the House of Commons last week.

That was the subject on everyone's lips at Aldbrough, from villagers to enthusiasts, who have pledged to join a huge protest in London on March 18.

Senior huntmaster Paul Morrison told the crowds: "We are at the centre of a political spin. We are not criminals, as some people think we are.

"This sport has been going on for a very long time - hunting with dogs started when man was first created. We are just people going about a law-abiding sport."

One Aldbrough resident said: "I don't usually get along to this, but it looks as though this could be the last chance I'll get with this Bill being pushed through Parliament."

Another said: "People don't realise how far this will have an effect. It's not just the hunt, it's the wagons, the blacksmiths and everyone else."

Hunt saboteurs were out in force across the country yesterday, using a range of tactics to throw hounds off the scent.

They are hoping to see the sport criminalised through new legislation, although Home Secretary Jack Straw has offered hunters a glimmer of hope by opposing an outright ban, instead declaring his support for a compromise, which would allow it to continue through a licensing system.

However, the Bill is certain to meet opposition in the Lords, even though the Government has thrown out more than 600 hereditary peers, many of whom were traditional hunt supporters.

But Douglas Batchelor, chairman of the Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals, said: "Hunting with dogs is intrinsically cruel and no amount of regulation or licensing will prevent the unnecessary suffering this inflicts.

"The only way to stop this cruelty is to prevent people from chasing and killing wild mammals with dogs.