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Huntsmen and women have broken the law 200,000 times since hunting with dogs was banned nearly 12 years ago, a charity has said.

As fox hunts across the country gather for their Boxing Day meets, animal rights campaigners suggested illegal hunting incidents take place 17,000 times a year.

Hunt supporters claim 250,000 people will join one of 300 meets today.

But, warning the Government against any attempt to bring back the hated ­blood sport, the League Against Cruel Sports revealed polls show a massive 84% of voters want to keep the ban.

The 2015 Tory election ­manifesto pledged to offer MPs a free vote on bringing back fox hunting.

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But an Ipsos Mori survey for the League, shows 81% of people in PM Theresa May’s own constituency of Maidenhead, Berks, are opposed to any return.

Eduardo Goncalves, of the League, said: “The polling and projections highlight just how out of touch any move to repeal the hunting ban would be.

"Generally only dictators would dream of pushing through a policy against that level of public opposition, so we hope our Government will respect the will of the people.

(Image: Getty)

“The Boxing Day hunts are portrayed as a glorious pageant taking place in front of a huge number of people who support them, but the truth is very different.

“Just because families might venture out on Boxing Day to see the hunt, stroke the dogs or watch the horses, doesn’t mean they support repealing a law to enable the hunt to chase and kill wild animals with their dogs for sport.”

Using reports from hunt monitors, the League estimates an average of 17,000 illegal hunting incidents a year since the ban was ­introduced in February 2005.

The animal welfare charity claimed that “most of the hunts” in England and Wales have been hunting illegally by abusing exemptions

and using the “false alibi” of trail hunting.

Mr Goncalves said: “Hunts now claim to ‘trail hunt’, but this is a false alibi used to continue to hunt, providing excuses for ‘accidental kills’.”

He called on MPs to “put the issue to bed once and for all, and instead of repealing the Hunting Act, strengthen it to ensure it fulfils the true spirit of why it was originally passed – to protect wild animals”.

(Image: Getty)

But the pro-hunting Countryside ­Alliance dismissed the estimate of 200,000 breaches of the law.

Chief executive Tim Bonner said: “This is an entirely irresponsible claim which highlights the increasing desperation of the anti-hunt movement.”