A CONTROVERSIAL move to limit trail-hunting on National Trust land has angered supporters of the sport in South Lakeland.

The National Trust has publicised a set of new rules which trail hunters must follow, and will hold a vote on banning the practice altogether on its land at its annual meeting on October 21.

Fifty members of the trust - which owns a large amount of land in the Lake District - have endorsed a motion to stop trail-hunting following the emergence of video footage allegedly showing hunts killing stags on its estates.

Campaigners argue that the practice, which involves riders and hounds following a pre-laid scent, is a way of getting around the hunting ban.

A member of a major Cumbrian hunt has highlighted the damage that regulations on the sport could have on the area, affecting both the traditions and the welfare of tenants who farm the land.

Neil Salisbury, secretary for the central committee of fell packs, said: "We have been working with the National Trust in conducting legal hunting since the hunting ban. We have never had any problems or any prosecutions.

"The Trust has nationally been under a lot of pressure from animal rights groups to come up with these changes which they want to impose on us."

The rules initially proposed by the National Trust include the reporting of the location of any hunting meet and the banning of animal-based scents.

"Putting all the details of the meets online is only going to benefit the hunting saboteurs," said Mr Salisbury. "Whenever the sabs find out where meets are they turn up in mini buses, some wearing masks, and cause as much unpleasantness as they can.

"They threaten the farmers or business owners where the meet is both physically and verbally, and also on social media.

"The National Trust is failing in its duty of care to the tenant farmers on its land in advocating these changes.

"Accidents happen if the hounds break off the trail. We use a natural scent that we know hounds will follow. We are very confident of that.

"The National Trust want us to use an artificial scent, like they do with hound trailing. Those dogs take years to be trained to follow those scents. We are not as confident that the dogs wouldn't break away and cause accidents with an artificial scent."

The Countryside Alliance has urged National Trust members to vote against imposing a full ban on trail-hunting on the Trust's property.

"We cannot underestimate the importance of members using their vote to support legal trail-hunting on National Trust land," explained Polly Portwin, the Countryside Alliance’s Head of Hunting.

"There are currently more than 60 hunts that apply for a licence to enable them access to National Trust land, but if this motion carries at the annual meeting then a number of these hunts may no longer be viable due to a lack of country."

Chief executive of the Countryside Alliance Tim Bonner added: "Following subsequent meetings between the Alliance and the National Trust, we made it clear that while we all understand that the Trust has again been dragged into a fight it would rather keep well out of. Some of the conditions that it is attempting to impose on hunts are simply unacceptable."