Labour has been warned to end its “running attack” on rural communities, as tens of thousands of people are set to gather for Boxing Day hunt parades.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party, which is widely tipped to win the next general election, has in the past called for “loopholes” in hunting legislation to be closed.

It comes amid warnings from campaigners that trail hunting, where a scent is laid for hounds to follow, is being used as a “smokescreen” for the illegal hunting of foxes.

Fox hunting was banned in England and Wales following the introduction of the Hunting Act 2004, which came into force a year later.

Riders during the annual North Cotswold Boxing Day hunt in Broadway, Worcestershire
Riders during the North Cotswold Boxing Day hunt in Broadway, Worcestershire (Jacob King/PA)

Campaign group the Countryside Alliance has urged Labour to abandon any plans to reopen the issue of hunting with new legal reforms.

It comes with a general election expected at some stage in the next 12 months.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner called on Labour not to bring forward further legislation but instead to “right the wrongs of the past” and end its “running attack on rural communities”.

He said: “Keir Starmer rightly talks about a future Labour government having respect for rural communities, but that needs to be more than just a catchphrase.

“Rural communities need to see action and that means working with them to better the countryside, rather than attacking those who live and work in it.”

The organisation has said that it and the British Hound Sports Association would be ready to oppose any new restrictions.

“Ultimately the countryside doesn’t want to have to have a fight over hunting again, but it will not sit back and allow itself to be bullied and become victim to a toxic culture-war,” Mr Bonner said.

Riders during the annual North Cotswold Boxing Day hunt in Broadway, Worcestershire
Riders at the North Cotswold Boxing Day hunt in Broadway, Worcestershire (Jacob King/PA)

But Labour’s shadow environment secretary Steve Reed insisted his party would “give our countryside its future back”.

“The only ‘running attack’ on the countryside is from this Conservative Government who have abandoned our rural communities,” he said.

“The Tories have put up trade barriers and let energy bills skyrocket, crippling our farmers and putting producers out of business.

“They’ve dismantled public transport, stripped away good local jobs and left workers facing falling pay.

“There is no more visible sign of Tory decline than the rivers across our countryside now swilling with toxic raw sewage.”