Thousands turned out for more than 250 traditional Boxing Day hunts across the UK, which saw dozens of young riders, several protests and one terrifying fall.
This year’s annual fox hunts came after Theresa May overturned plans for a vote on scrapping the fox hunt ban.
Photos from the event show thousands of people lining the streets of towns across the UK to greet the riders as they kicked off their hunts.
Several children took part, with some as young as toddler age riding horses alongside their proud parents.
A young rider cries as she takes part in the Avon Vale Hunt on Tuesday. joins the Avon Vale Hunt in Lacock, England. It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May reportedly scrapped an election pledge to give MPs a vote on repealing the 2004 Hunting Act
Young riders sit atop their horses while taking part in the Avon Vale Hunt – one of more than 250 hunts that took place across the UK on Boxing Day
Hundreds of people lined the streets in Elham in Kent and Ledbury in Herefordshire to watch the men and women, wearing their ‘hunting pink’, parade through the villages before taking part in the hunt
A young rider dressed in red takes part in a ride in Hagley, Worcestershire, as a young girl happily participates in a ride in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire on Boxing Day
The South Tyrone Fox Hounds annual Boxing day meet in the Village of Moy, The yearly traditional meet draws upwards of 800 spectators and participants which gathers in the main street in Moy
A member of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt crashes as she jumps a fence during the annual Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone
Members of the crowd react after a rider of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt was injured after she rode through fields
While many children smiled as they took part, on child appeared to be in tears as she rode in the Avon Vale Hunt in Lacock, near Wiltshire.
At an event at the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt, a rider and her horse crashed as they jumped a fence in Chiddingstone.
An image of the crash shows the horse heading nose-first toward the ground before others ran over to check on the animal and its rider. Their conditions are currently unknown.
Hundreds of people lined the streets in Elham in Kent and Ledbury in Herefordshire to watch the men and women, wearing their ‘hunting pink’, parade through the villages before taking part in the hunt.
Meanwhile, protesters and fox hunting supporters clashed at the Tredegar Farmers Hunt in Bassaleg, near Newport, Wales, as the two groups squared up to each other and the police had to intervene in a bid to diffuse the situation.
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was seen laughing while he made his way to the hunt meeting point in Chiddingstone Castle, Kent.
A woman wearing a Santa hat guides a young rider through the Avon Vale Hunt in Lacock, England, on Boxing Day
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Matching Green, Essex, to watch the Boxing Day Hunt, with the young boy pictured above took part in
A young boy smiles as he rides a horse in the hunt in Matching Green, Essex. The hunt sets off from the Chequers public house for the traditional Boxing Day meet
The South Tyrone Fox Hounds annual Boxing day meet in the Village of Moy, The yearly traditional meet draws upwards of 800 spectators and participants which gathers in the main street in Moy
Crowds gather as the annual Avon Vale Hunt gets underway in Lacock, England, a village near Wiltshire on Boxing Day
The East Kent and West Street hunt set off for the traditional Boxing Day meet from the village of Elham in Kent on Tuesday
People gathered in Chiddingstone, Kent, for the traditional Boxing Day hunt and Mr Farage was pictured heading there this morning
The hunt in Chiddingstone, Kent, started on Tuesday morning and the former Ukip leader was seen laughing when he arrived
Horses wear reindeer antlers and tinsel as the Tedworth Hunt meets in Pewsey, Wiltshire for the annual Boxing day hun
Large crowds gathered today to watch the Avon Vale hunt as it passed through the Wiltshire village of Lacock on Boxing Day
It comes as Mrs May is set to abandon her Conservative general election manifesto pledge to give MPs a free vote on whether to overturn the fox hunting ban.
The Hunting Act was introduced by the Labour Party in 2004 which outlawed the hunting of animals including foxes and deer with dogs.
A recent survey found 85 per cent do not think hunting should be made legal again and Mrs May is set to announce next year that she will not go ahead with the vote.
It comes as the Countryside Alliance said hunting was younger and more diverse than it had ever been.
A survey of registered hunts showed more women and young people were taking part in legal hunts such as ‘trail’ hunting than 10 years ago.
Baroness Ann Mallalieu, president of the Countryside Alliance, said the hunting ban ‘has little to do with animals or their welfare’, adding the anti-hunting lobby is about a ‘hatred of people’.
A man was riding his horse through Bassaleg, near Newport, Wales, when protesters and supporters clashed in the village
A girl riding a horse went straight past protesters who were holding up signs which read: ‘The country cares. Ban hunting with dogs’
The East Kent and West Street hunt set off for the traditional Boxing Day meet from the village of Elham in Kent on Monday
Hundreds of people gathered in Ledbury, Herefordshire, and spectators watched the men and women ride down the street
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage was photographed laughing and smiling as he arrived at the hunt meeting point at Chiddingstone Castle in Kent
The ‘Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt’ arrives for the meet at Chiddingstone Castle on December 26 (pictured)
Participants ride to Worcester Lodge during the Duke of Beaufort’s Boxing Day Hunt at Didmarton in Gloucestershire
Blood hounds wait with members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt ride during the annual Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone
Blood hounds run through fields as they follow members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Huntduring the annual Boxing Day hunt
Hounds arrive with members of the hunt as the Ashford Valley Fox Hunt gather in Tenderten in Kent, south east England, on Boxing Day
Blood hounds follow Members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt during the annual Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone
But polling for the League Against Cruel Sports showed continued widespread opposition to repealing the Hunting Act.
Hunting returned to the headlines during the snap general election, when Mrs May promised a free vote on repealing the ban to the consternation of campaigners, but failed to win a parliamentary majority.
The National Trust has brought in new measures for licensing legal hunts on its land, including forbidding laying fox-based scents which can lead to foxes being accidentally hunted.
A survey of 2,003 people by Ipsos MORI for the League Against Cruel Sports found that 85 per cent did not think fox hunting should be made legal again, while opposition to legalising deer hunting stood at 87 per cent, and hare hunting and coursing at 90 per cent.
Opposition to legalising fox hunting had risen from 73 per cent in 2008 to 85 per cent this year, the animal welfare organisation said.
Hundreds of people lined the streets in Ledbury High Street for the annual festive meet of the Boxing Day Ledbury Hunt
Spectators watched as hunt members, in their ‘pink’ hunting coats, gathered outside the Feathers Hotel, just as they have done for generations in Ledbury, Herefordshire
Hundreds of people lined the market square in the village of Elham, Kent, and started playing with the dogs before they went out on the hunt
Men, women and children were seen riding horses through the streets of Ledbury on Tuesday morning to take part in the annual hunt
Blood hound dogs wait with members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt as they gather at Chiddingstone Castle during their annual Boxing Day hunt
The Avon Vale Hunt gets underway as dozens of riders trot through the Wiltshire village of Lacock, England, on Boxing Day
Large crowds gathered today to watch the hunt as it passed through the Wiltshire village of Lacock
Members of the Old Surrey Burstow and West Kent Hunt ride during the annual Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone
Red coated huntsmen with their hounds at the annual Boxing Day hunt, in Aberford, near Leeds, West Yorks. The Bramham Moor hunt gathered at their traditional spot to begin the hunt on one of the busiest days of the year for fox hunting in the UK
Director of policy, communications and campaigns for the League Against Cruel Sports Chris Luffingham criticised the portrayal of Boxing Day hunts as a ‘celebration of a great tradition with huge public support’.
And he said: ‘With 85 per cent of the public saying they do not want fox hunting made legal again, there has never been a better time to strengthen the Hunting Act and bring an end to the illegal persecution of wildlife still going on under the guise of ‘trail’ hunting.’
League Against Cruel Sports chief executive Eduardo Goncalves said: ‘It’s nearly 2018, not 1818, so it’s a little strange we’re celebrating because a government has renounced fox hunting. But yet, this is still good news.
‘There’s been a shift this year, as the government has realised quite how important it is to recognise the compassionate nature of the British public.
‘The cynical will say that this statement won’t hold in the future when the pro hunting lobby exerts its influence once more, so we shall have to see if an anti-hunting stance is indeed the future of the Conservative party, or a tactical move at a politically sensitive time.
‘For the sake of our animals we hope it’s the former.’