Tens of thousands of protesters from across Britain are participating in a protest march over hunting rights in central London today.
Some 1,600 police more than usual were on duty for the "Liberty and Livelihood" rally, which the British media billed as the largest so-called civil liberties march the country has ever seen.
The organisers, the Countryside Alliance, said that well over 200,000 people were registered to march, but expected a lot more people to turn out.
The main focus of the protest was Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans to ban the hunting of foxes with hounds, though the event was also being used to highlight wider concerns about the quality of life in rural communities.
Supporters insist fox hunting is an inalienable right and a rural tradition which helps control countryside pests and provides thousands of jobs.
Opponents say it is both elitist and barbaric.
The march was expected to last up to eight hours.
AF