Intent in humans is not easy to prove, in a pack of hounds, it could be nigh on impossible.

So, if a hunt sets out with the intent of hunting a rabbit, but the hounds veer off course when they smell a fox, and subsequently kill it, this could be seen as inadvertent and unintentional, and therefore not illegal.

The flushing out example also raises questions. If hounds are sent into woods or undergrowth to retrieve a fox, for shooting, there's no guarantee they will not kill it first.

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Such scenarios only allow two dogs to pursue the fox - far fewer than would be found in a traditional hunting pack. But, the handbook explains, there is no limit to how many "separate groups of people, each... with two dogs" can go out.

"These separate small groups can take place in close proximity provided that the two hounds do not join with other hounds nearby in pursuit of a single fox".

While the Act forbids hunting of hares, it allows hunting of hares which have been shot. Here, again, the handbook senses ambiguity.

"There is no limit on the number of dogs or guidance on either how shot the hare has to be or what it has been shot with."

Police access

The booklet also highlights that hunt organisers are not obliged to allow police on to private land "for a general 'fishing expedition' in the hope of getting evidence of an illegal act". They must have reasonable suspicion of a crime having been, or about to be committed.

However, anti-hunt protesters see less ambiguity in the new rules. "The Hunting Act is really very simple," says advice from the League Against Cruel Sports. "If you search for, chase or kill a wild mammal with dogs you are in breach of the law. Hunting, unless of an exempt form, is illegal."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Rural Affairs, which issued the ban, said the new law is "perfectly clear and perfectly enforceable".

"Ultimately it will be for the courts to interpret the law and decide if there's been an offence. We don't believe that courts will have any difficulty in establishing intention. They may see an accident as just that, but a series of 'accidents' will look more suspicious."

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