In pictures: Crowds turn out to watch annual Boxing Day hunts in Shropshire and Mid Wales
Huge crowds turned out in the Shropshire countryside to watch the annual Boxing Day hunts get under way.
The Albrighton and Woodlands Hunt was among a number taking place across the county today – with hundreds lining the streets at Newport.
Crowds gathered in St Mary's Street in Newport to see off the riders and their hounds for the traditional spectacle.
Elsewhere in the region, locals gathered in Welshpool to watch the annual parade of the Tanatside Hunt through the streets.
A small band of objectors jeered and held banners high as the hunt supporters on horseback and the hounds led the Royal Oak Hunt from a lap of the town centre.
The protest was drowned out by applause from those who lined the streets.
About 30 people on horseback took part in the parade.
Those watching the spectacle included Montgomeryshire MP, Glyn Davies.
He said: "It was the biggest crowd I've ever seen at the Boxing Day meet. Most, like me, have never been hunting in their lives, and never wanted to. I’m always amazed how friendly and orderly everyone is bearing in mind the antipathy that hunting with dogs seems to generate."
The North Shropshire Hunt leaving from Albrighton Hall near Shrewsbury, Ludlow Hunt at Ludlow Castle and the United Hunt in Bishop's Castle were also well attended.
More than 250 hunts met for their annual hunts across the United Kingdom.
It comes after it was reported that Theresa May will abandon her Conservative general election manifesto pledge to give MPs a free vote on whether to overturn the fox hunting ban.
Reports suggest the Prime Minister will announce plans in early 2018 to permanently drop the commitment to a House of Commons vote, in a move which would risk infuriating rural Tories.
The Countryside Alliance said hunting was younger and more diverse than it had ever been, with a survey of registered hunts showing more women and young people taking part in legal hunts such as "trail" hunting than 10 years ago.
Baroness Ann Mallalieu, president of the Countryside Alliance, said the hunting ban "has little to do with animals or their welfare", adding the anti-hunting lobby is about a "hatred of people".
