SOCIAL media-fuelled protests by animal liberationists are causing an increasing number of disruptions to fox hunting across Victoria.

A group called the Melbourne Hunt Saboteurs has published confrontations with hunters on the internet, trespassing on private property and interrupting hunts.

Members of the group cannot be identified as they publish images of themselves clad in balaclavas, although it is understood members have links with the Animal Justice Party.

Hunt Club Association of Victoria chairman Kurt Esser said all members of his organisation observed the Fox Hunting Code of Conduct, with the imprimatur of the State Government.

“All hunts are conducted with a legal permit and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously,” he said.

“I am a human rights lawyer and I respect the right for people to protest. However, by its definition, trespass is an illegal act.”

In the UK, the Blair Government banned fox hunting in England and Wales in 2004, leading to a backlash from hunters and rural landholders.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has put the issue on the back burner.

Unlike the UK, Mr Esser said foxes had inflicted immense ecological damage across most of southeastern Australia.

“There is a substantial ecological argument to be made about fox reduction,” he said. “Foxes have killed huge numbers of marsupials over more than a century.”

The Melbourne Hunt Saboteurs did not respond to a request for comment.