SNP MPs are coming under immense pressure to vote against any attempts to repeal the fox hunting ban in England and Wales.

A mass lobbying of MPs by anti-fox-hunting groups is already under way, with Scotland’s newest members receiving emails from constituents concerned that hunting with dogs could be reintroduced south of the Border.

The difficulty for the SNP is that they have already committed to not voting on legislation that does not impact on Scotland.

In a column for The Guardian in February, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon wrote: “The SNP have a longstanding position of not voting on matters which purely affect England – such as fox- hunting south of the Border, for example – and we stand by that.”

Over the weekend both the First Minister and Angus Robertson, the SNP leader in the House of Commons, said the party had not yet taken a decision on voting against the ban and would wait to see what was in the detail of the legislation.

Pro-hunt campaigners believe the result of the General Election means there are at least 286 MPs in favour of repealing the ban. This, they believe, would only be enough to scrap the legislation if the SNP MPs did not take part in the vote.

Backbench Tory MPs are encouraging Prime Minister David Cameron to have the vote sooner rather than later.

Tory MP Simon Hart, a former chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “We need to get on with this and I am sure the government will want to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently. The commitment to a vote on repeal has been in the manifesto since 2005 and we now have the opportunity to deliver that and get rid of a law that has been a running sore in the countryside for over 10 years.”

He added: “The vast majority of my colleagues understand that this whole debate was never really about hunting or animal welfare, but about Labour MPs having a go at what they thought was an easy Conservative target.

"The recent election result has shown once and for all that Labour’s obsession with fighting a class war has rendered them unelectable, so it is only right that we remove laws based on this prejudice from the statute book.”

Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Robertson said: “SNP MPs still have to consider the legislation which of course we haven’t seen so we need to see it, but of course we will be looking at that closely.”

Fox hunting and hare coursing were banned in Scotland by the Scottish Parliament in 2002, with SNP, Labour, and Liberal Democrat MSPs joining forces to introduce the bill.

They were banned in the rest of the UK in 2004.

MPs can help to prevent Tories from overturning the ban on this bloodsport by Robbie Marsland, Director of League Against Cruel Sports Scotland IF the Conservative Government gives Westminster MPs the opportunity to reintroduce a bloodsport into the 21st century, the League Against Cruel Sports asks the SNP to give their MPs a free vote on the issue.

While the League understands why the SNP has not traditionally voted on matters pertaining only to England and Wales – and recognises how important many SNP members feel that this is to their cause – we also know that many SNP members want the party to be a progressive force in the UK, and to stand against animal cruelty.

The League Against Cruel Sports exists to campaign against cruelty to animals in the name of sport, and one of our key campaigns is against fox hunting.

We recognise that requesting SNP Parliamentarians vote against repeal is a huge ask. However, the SNP does campaign against bullfighting in Spain, and we believe that many of SNP’s members would feel uncomfortable sitting by while the Tories reintroduce a bloodsport.

The League understands that the decision to repeal the Hunting Act will be made by the Conservatives, and we understand that, if it is carried, it will be on the back of Conservative votes. However, if the SNP agrees to give their MPs a free vote, along with Labour, Conservative rebels and the votes of other parties, we have a chance to keep this cruel sport in the history books.

We urge the SNP to grasp this opportunity.