Eight arrests during Boxing Day hunt parade

Eight people have been arrested during a Boxing Day hunt parade in East Sussex.

The annual event has been a tradition in Lewes since the 1800s and sees members of the Southdown and Eridge Hunt gather in the town's high street.

Organisers said the event operated "within the parameters of the law" and worked to support local rural community events.

However, protesters said the event was an "abomination" and "barbaric".

Sussex Police confirmed eight people had been held in connection with the parade.

"We have no further details at this time," a spokesperson said.

Using dogs to chase or kill foxes was made illegal in England and Wales in 2004 under the Hunting Act.

Hunts, however, are permitted to simulate a chase by following a pre-laid scent, which is known as trail hunting.

Animal rights campaigners have urged the government to deliver on its manifesto promise to ban trail hunting.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the government was elected on a mandate to introduce "the most ambitious animal welfare plans in a generation".

"And that is exactly what we will do," a spokesperson said.

"We are committed to a ban on trail hunting, which is being exploited as a smokescreen to cruelly kill foxes and hares."

The Countryside Alliance, which represents hunters, has criticised the decision, adding it would be "extraordinary" for Labour to focus on the ban given the poor state of its relations with rural communities.

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