Hunting's supporters rally with a warning for Cameron: Don't count on us next time Despite promises made by the Tories before the election, a vote in Parliament to reverse the Hunting Act 2004 has not materialised. With the next election fewer than 18 months away, however, there are other items in the deficit column of country people's wishlists. The threat of HS2, the blight of wind farms, rising energy prices, conflicts about planning law and sluggish progress on rural broadband are contributing to the sense that their concerns are not being addressed. Tim Bonner, campaign director of the Countryside Alliance, said foxhunting was just one example of a "deep frustration" swelling across rural Britain. "If Mr Cameron thinks he can rely on traditional foxhunters to get MPs elected next time, he must be made to think again," he added. Hunting is a totemic issue for rural Conservatives and he has done nothing to make life easier for hunts. The Conservatives have got a real fright coming. If Mr Cameron and Owen Paterson [the Environment Secretary] cannot deliver on the simple issue of an amendment to the Hunting Act, what are they doing for the welfare of the countryside? At Tiverton on Thursday, farmers were equally defiant. The number of foxes has increased dramatically since the ban, causing livestock loss and irreparable damage to farmers" livelihoods. Former master John Dorse, who has a hay and straw haulage business, said: "Free range chicken farming is big business here. They need the hunt to control foxes. Shooting them is not the answer. Joint master and dairy farmer Gerald Emmett was up at 5am to oversee the milking of 200 cows before donning his red coat. "The main concern is the deluge of red tape and the fear of TB which causes a huge amount of stress," he said. When you look at other countries in Europe, like France, we feel we are an underappreciated and forgotten industry. More than 160 miles away, at the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt in West Sussex, emotions were also running high. Eighty riders and around 1,000 on foot had gathered for the hunt, an event as embedded in their Christmas calendar as the Queen's Speech, stockings and turkey. There was the same friendly chatter, immaculately turned out horses and huntsmen in elegant, dark blue livery. But it was not just the saturated ground and power failures that dominated conversation. Robin Muir, 52, took up riding in his forties and hunted for the first time the year before the ban. "It's the eighth Boxing Day meet since the ban and we still don't really know where we stand," he said. Support for hunting in Sussex is markedly on the increase - but the law is a mess and the Prime Minister, once vocally committed to repeal of the Hunting Act, has gone to ground. There is still time for him to galvanise the troops, but it's fast running out. In this beautiful part of the South Downs National Park, foxhunting has been a fixture since the 17th century. The legendary Grand Chase took place just a few miles away, more than 250 years ago. For Paul Lyon-Maris, 51, one of the joint masters of the hunt, continuing local support proves that country voters are more determined than ever to fight for their rights. "The sport of hunting in the countryside has absorbed the absurdity of the law with fortitude and shown that the centuries of good husbandry and old traditions will not be pushed aside by bad law," he said. We are the custodians of those traditions and must keep them alive for the generations that follow. We need to continue to remind the Government of their duty to those that voted them into that position. Charles Homan, 48, a farmer's son, grew up hunting and knows how it brings the community together. "Out today we have teachers, nurses, farriers, shop workers, grooms, farmers, mechanics, builders, book-keepers and office workers," he said, gesturing at the surrounding crowds. Foxhunting, pre-ban, was proved to be the best method of controlling a healthy and tolerated fox population in the countryside. Charley Perkins, 27, a fishing guide from Vermont, who had flown in from Boston on Thursday, was shocked that the spectacle stirred up such divisions. "We have a flourishing tradition of fishing, shooting and foxhunting in the States," he said. I can't believe that this heritage is under threat in England. Back at Tiverton, enjoyment was tinged with nostalgia among the supporters as the horses and hounds headed off. Peter Pugsley, 73, was attending his 60th Boxing Day meet. "I would like to go back to when we were hunting foxes properly," he said. But we must make the best of the Hunting Act. Meanwhile, Shaun Dryhurst, the landlord of the Half Moon pub, where the hunt has met on Boxing Day for the past 24 years, was relishing one of his busiest days all year. "You would need another royal wedding to get the lunchtime crowd I get today," he laughed. The stars of the day, though, were the children - the next generation for whom many of these rural campaigners are fighting, not just on the hunting issue but their wider demands from a lacklustre Coalition. Katie Bainbridge, nine, had decked her pony, Dillon, in tinsel. Jack Emmet, 11, had put red antlers on Disney. "It is all about family here," said Katie's father, Clive. Frankly, I would rather be in bed, but it's what Christmas is all about. We have a duty to fly the flag. With that, the horn was blown and the hounds set off down the high street. The hunt may have been going the wrong way down a one-way street, after a couple of glasses of port, but no one on this occasion was going to quibble with the hunt marshal, dressed as Father Christmas with real stag antlers on the handlebars of his quad bike. As he whizzed past, a cheer rang out from the crowd. No doubt they'll be back next year, perhaps in even greater numbers. Mr Cameron would do well to take note. Rory Knight Bruce is a journalist and author of 'Red Letter Days: Hunting Across the British Isles. Rupert Uloth is the deputy editor of 'Country Life.