Inverness - About 5,000 protesters dressed in hunting gear and blowing hunting horns gathered in the Scottish highlands yesterday to protest against a bill in the new Scottish parliament to ban foxhunting.
Hunters from Scotland, England and Wales staged their noisy protest outside the annual conference of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which has promised to back a ban on the bloodsport.
"It's all about freedom of choice, defending the countryside as we know it," said Mr Allan Murray, head of the Scottish Countryside Alliance.
A ban would cost about 900 jobs and send a signal to rural dwellers that the new parliament cared only about urban issues, according to Mr Murray.
Scotland could become the first British region to ban the sport, which is more popular in England but is still routinely staged in Scotland's southern borders region and in the highlands.