THE HOUSE of Lords has agreed to hear challenges to the Hunting Act under Human Rights and European legislation, brought by the Countryside Alliance and others pro-hunters, leaving a question mark hanging over the legitimacy of the Hunting Act.

The Human Rights claimants argue that the Hunting Act contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Law claimants argue that the Act restricts free trade. The cases, which were rejected earlier by the Court of Appeal, are expected to be heard next year.

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart said: "A legal question mark continues to hang over the legitimacy of the Hunting Act as the Law Lords obviously believe that the cases deserve serious consideration. We remain convinced that the Hunting Act is legally, as well as morally, questionable.

"Hunts have only survived the new law because of the conviction of the hunting community that the Act cannot stand the test of time.

"The Hunting Act is quite simply a bad law that is failing at every level. It will eventually have to be put out of its misery whether by a future Parliament, the Law Lords or a European Court."