A FOX hunt last night denied claims that it was breaking the law in using a bird of prey to get around the ban on hunting with dogs.

The League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) said it had alerted police because it understood an eagle owl used by the South Durham Hunt had never been released.

The campaign group said that if there was no genuine intention to release the bird when a pack of hounds had flushed out a fox, this contravened an exemption designed for falconry which was contained in The Hunting Act 2004.

Mike Hobday, head of public affairs at LACS, said: "The Act is clear - dogs can be used to flush out a fox in order for the bird of prey to hunt it. If the bird is not released, then clearly it cannot hunt the fox.

"The league is asking Durham Police to investigate the matter. A token bird of prey at a hunt is not acceptable, the exemption was clearly designed for falconry."

Mark Shotton, master of the South Durham Hunt, said guidelines issued by the Master Foxhounds Association - the governing body of fox hunting - suggested that in fact there was no obligation to release the bird of prey.

He said: "There is no legal obligation for us to release the eagle every time just because we are flushing vermin out of the woods. We release it when the time is right."

Mr Shotton added: "These new rules have made a farce of the whole situation - when the Government get involved they make a balls-up of things."

A spokesman for Durham police said: "We are not aware of any such formal complaint having been made, but obviously if such a matter is drawn to our attention we would be duty bound to carry out any relevant inquiries."